The 25 parents of children who attended the Toila school were not satisfied with the decision made by Toila Municipal Council to close the school's high school in a vote of 9 for and 7 against.

The reason given for the closure was the decreasing number of children and the fact that the state would support the construction of a new school building if the high school section closes.

According to the parents who took the case to court, the community was not sufficiently involved in the decision, it was based on incorrect data and failed to take into account a number of other important factors, including the fact that Toila is the only high school in Ida-Viru County with a predominance of Estonian-speaking children.

"The court did not find any error of judgement in the present case that would have provided a basis for annulling the contested decision," said Judge Maria Lõbus of the Tartu Administrative Court's Jõhvi Courthouse

The 25 parents appealing the closure drew attention to legal acts requiring local governments and the state to ensure access to an Estonian-language learning environment. According to their lawyers, the court did not address this issue raised by their clients in depth.

Toila has already begun the process of closing the municipality's only high school. From next fall it will continue teaching children up until the 9th grade only.

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