"For seven years now, Open School has shown interest in being municipalized, meaning terminating its status as a private school," Jašin said. "Today, we discussed the possibility that, as Tallinn is completing a new school building in Põhja-Tallinn located at Karjamaa 18, we could open or establish a new municipal school in cooperation with Open School."

According to the deputy mayor, this would mean that under the name Tallinn Open School, the school would apply their extensive experience teaching Estonian to non-native speakers, as well as their culturally sensitive teaching methods, in the establishment of a new municipal school.

"These are all very modern and highly methodological skills, which the City of Tallinn definitely needs in the education landscape," he acknowledged.

Jašin also said that establishing a new school would also definitely mean a public competition in which anyone qualified can apply.

"This, now, is the point of discussion or cooperation – whether members of the current Open School community or leadership would apply for [those positions]," he noted.

This plan has not been finalized by either the Tallinn Education Department, the city government or Open School itself, the deputy mayor stressed.

"Another scenario is that another municipal school will be established at Karjamaa 18, totally unrelated to Open School," he continued. "The city also has definite plans to purchase the current Open School property, including the educational building located at Auna 6 that currently houses the private school. One possible scenario is that the [Open School] municipal school would remain in operation at that location."

Jašin noted that it is crucial for the city to take a comprehensive look at Põhja-Tallinn District's entire education network, and work together with private institutions to find the right pieces to fit the puzzle.

"Ten years from now, Põhja-Tallinn will have 40,000 more residents, and we'll need 1,200 local school spots," he emphasized. "'This is exactly also what we discussed with the private Open School."

Currently, 500 students attend Open School in the building at Auna 6. The school building under construction at Karjamaa 18 will be able to accommodate 650 students.

Open School principal Sandra Järv said that since the school's founding in 2017, their goal has been to become a municipal school, and that they have been working toward this goal all along, discussing possibilities with the city government and the Tallinn Education Department.

"We're reviewing and weighing all building options – both Auna 6 and Karjamaa 18," Järv confirmed. "We definitely want Open School to operate in Põhja-Tallinn, because we are this community's school and this area has the biggest shortage of school spots."

She added that the school is currently operating with the assumption and goal that Open School will be able to start the new school year as a municipal school in Põhja-Tallinn, but that it wouldn't be right for her to speak to any specific solutions until a deal has been inked with the city.

Deputy mayor: Kalamaja school addition to be settled in coming days

Also located in Põhja-Tallinn, at Vabriku 18, is Kalamaja Basic School, which has been awaiting an addition for more than a decade. Until now, this addition has been held up by a public-private partnership (PPP) contract concluded with businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa's company Vivatex Holding that will run through 2036. According to the deputy mayor for education, however, a solution has been found.

"We have an understanding in the city government that before we even start establishing new schools or collaborating with private schools to build a new municipal school, we first have to find a solution for building an addition to Kalamaja Basic School," Jašin confirmed, adding that he hopes a decision on the matter will be made either Monday or at least within the next few days.

"Because Kalamaja Basic School has been tied to a rental agreement, it's precisely for that reason that the City of Tallinn couldn't reach an agreement for 12 years regarding what exactly to do with it," he explained. "The issue is that we've been negotiating with the private sector, which wants to conclude a deal that benefits them the most, rather than in the public interest."

According to the deputy mayor, the city has been engaged in lengthy negotiations with Vivatex Holding in which the key question is whether the company would build the addition itself and the city would cover rent costs, or whether the city would buy out the school building at a reasonable price and then build the expansion itself.

"Based on the information I have, we actually have a very good proposal on the table; the question is whether we'll be moving forward with it," he confirmed.

This August, it came to light that despite the fact that Kalamaja Basic School has long been struggling with a lack of enough space and is still awaiting a promised addition to the school building, Tallinn's new city government is instead planning on buying out the private Open School's school building in the same district, which would allow it to continue operating in a municipally owned building.

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