Tallinn's ruling coalition agreement, signed over the weekend by the Reform Party, Isamaa, the Social Democratic Party (SDE) and Eesti 200, states that one goal will be to reduce the city's monthly kindergarten fee.

Deputy Mayor Aleksei Jašin (Eesti 200) said that two options had been discussed in coalition negotiations: either abolishing monthly fees altogether at municipal kindergartens, or else start reducing them.

How much the fee will be reduced will depend on city budget negotiations, he added.

"It depends on the big picture – we have other expensive or more expensive promises in there involving things like snow clearing or educators' salaries," Jašin explained. "We're going to try to find a balance in [budget] negotiations, and to what extent kindergarten fees can be reduced will depend on this."

Currently and for the year 2024, the monthly kindergarten fee for Tallinn residents is €71 for one child, or €78 at kindergartens with swimming pools, and €100 or €110, respectively, for one child for non-residents.

According to the deputy mayor, abolishing the fee altogether would run the city €13 million. "In other words, this falls in the category of high-budget items," he said.

As these discussions concern next year's city budget, however, parents and caregivers shouldn't hold out for a fee reduction yet this fall, he acknowledged.

The ruling agreement likewise states that going forward, private schools, private kindergartens and daycares will be treated as part of Tallinn's educational system. Whether and to what extent the city will start paying higher subsidies for children attending private schools, however, has not yet been decided, Jašin admitted, adding that the matter needs to be discussed with the Tallinn Education Department first.

"There are definitely going to be some adjustments and changes, but right now I can't tell you exactly what they'll be; we're only just getting acquainted with the issue," he explained.

Smaller high school levels to be closed

The recently inked coalition agreement likewise includes a clause that insofar as Tallinn is home to three state high schools, with a fourth planned to be built in Lasnamäe District, the city will evaluate where high school levels – meaning grades 10-12 – of municipal schools could be closed down.

"If we're talking about the long term, then one state high school in Tallinn has yet to be built – I'm talking about Lasnamäe State High School," Jašin pointed out.

"And once these [state] are operating at full capacity, then many high school students in Tallinn can continue their studies there," he continued. "This means that smaller high schools where student numbers maybe aren't so high right now – they need to be closed down in order to increase the number of basic school spots and reduce certain teachers' workloads."

According to the deputy mayor, some schools in Tallinn have already decided on their own to close down their high school grade levels, such as at Pelgulinna High School.

"Some initiatives come from school leaders themselves; some come in cooperation with the Education Department," he said. "But what we need to do over the next year is develop a school network plan that shows demographic trends and takes that data and city planning aspects into account, which will tell us where, for example, more kindergarten or basic school spots are needed and where we could reduce the number of high school levels."

Russian Lyceum foundation to close

The new coalition agreement will see the Tallinn Russian Lyceum Foundation (Tallinna Vene Lütseum SA) dissolved as well. According to Jašin, this only concerns the municipally owned foundation; the school itself will remain open, transitioning alongside all other Russian-language schools to Estonian-language education.

"Some positions [in the foundation] have been politically filled by one party, and the aim of the foundation has been to promote Russian-language education in the city of Tallinn," he explained. "In the context of us transitioning in full to Estonian-language education, there is no need for this foundation with sometimes even political objectives."

The deputy mayor added that a package of support measures will surely be developed to ensure that they can manage to transition to Estonian-language education in time.

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