Tønder commits another 20 million kroner to school

Tønder Municipality will spend another 20 million kroner on Skærbæk District School, already the most expensive publicly funded construction project in the municipality’s history, DR reports. The unanimous decision is part of the municipality’s 2027 budget agreement.

The new funding will pay for a multipurpose hall at the five-year-old school. Pupils currently have to walk about 750 metres to the town’s shared sports hall. For class 0.A, the journey takes almost 25 minutes each way, cutting into half of their physical education time.

The school was initially budgeted at 90 million kroner, but cost close to 110 million kroner when it was completed in 2021. Mayor Jørgen Popp Petersen rejected the suggestion that the new investment was an extra bill caused by a mistake in the original project. The municipality had decided not to build a gym or multipurpose hall, and instead used Skærbæk Center, he said.

School principal Klaus Fog said staff were delighted with the decision, comparing the change to moving from playing in the Superliga to the Champions League. He said pupils would now get much more physical education.

Parents and the school’s support association also welcomed the news. Birgit Bentin, a parent of two younger pupils and a member of the school board, said the walk had affected both the amount of teaching and children’s willingness to take part. Support association chair Hanne Vestergaard Rasmussen said the group had argued for several years that a multipurpose hall was needed.

Petersen said other projects had been prioritised, including a new sports hall in Toftlund because the existing one could no longer be kept in service for safety and wear-related reasons.