The case in summary Brattås kindergarten in Nøtterøy closed overnight this week, the day after the municipality had transferred NOK 2.5 million to the kindergarten’s operation and special educational measures. The parents of the 119 children in the kindergarten had also just paid for October, and it is uncertain whether they will get the money back. The municipality has reacted strongly to the closure, which they believe violates the obligations the kindergarten has entered into with the parents and the municipality. The municipality has sent a letter to the owner demanding reopening. The owner of the kindergarten, Trygve Bjarkø, has proposed a solution to the municipality and says that the main goal is to reopen the kindergarten as soon as possible. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. This week it became known that Brattås kindergarten in Nøtterøy closed overnight. The owner of the private nursery school notified parents and guardians on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday morning the nursery school was closed. On the same day, a possible municipal acquisition of the kindergarten was to be processed by the municipal council in Færder. Parental payment and municipal support Shortly before the kindergarten closed its doors, the parental payment for 119 children had ticked into the account. Tonje Rønning with her son Dag Atle. He started kindergarten two months ago. Photo: Guro Hatlo / news – We have just paid in the amount for October. NOK 2,500 times 119 children, it’s a few hundred thousand we don’t know if we’ll get back, says Tonje Rønning, who has children in Brattås kindergarten. The day before the kindergarten closed, an amount of one million was also transferred from Færder municipality. Municipal director Kristin J. Kirsebom tells news that the municipality paid out around NOK 2.5 million: About two million in operating subsidies and around half a million for special educational measures. – Not compatible with the obligations – We react to the fact that the obligations are not followed up. The closure is not compatible with the obligations Brattås kindergarten has entered into with the parents, in that there are statutes that regulate notice periods, says Kirsebom. Press photo of Færder municipality director Kristin Johannessen Kirsebom Photo: Færder municipality She believes it is also in conflict with the obligations the owner has with the municipality. – Now we have paid for a kindergarten offer in October without the children benefiting from it, states the municipal director. Færder municipality writes in a press release that they are reacting to the closure taking place without prior notice. “The municipality also reacts to the fact that it happens the day after the company has received payment from the municipality for the kindergarten’s operating subsidy for October, as well as subsidies for special educational measures for the rest of the year,” the press release states. You can read the owner’s response to this further down in the case. Background for the closure Already in May, the Husbanken petitioned for the forced sale of Brattås kindergarten, but this decision was appealed. The background was three defaulted loans totaling NOK 54,544,957, and that the nursery school should not have paid installments and interest on these since September 2023. In September, the Agder District Court also ordered a forced sale of the property. Owner and general manager Trygve Bjarkø has been in dialogue with the municipality about whether they can buy the property. Færder municipal council decided on 2 October that they do not want to buy the nursery at the sum offered – which they believe would have resulted in a total investment cost of 82 million with legal costs and the need for upgrading. Bjarkø claims he had no other choice but to close. He says he has a duty to act to stop losses for creditors under the Companies Act. The owner says that Tuesday evening was the first opportunity to have a meeting with the union and shop stewards, and that he could therefore not notify parents before. The owner also tells news that over two years ago he told the municipality that he could not run the nursery. He believes they should have found a solution. Parents news has spoken to describe that they have been told that everything will work out. The parents also describe an experience of being used as a means of pressure against the municipality in a political game. Bjarkø does not agree with this. He believes he had no other choice. Demands reopening The municipality has sent a letter to kindergarten owner Trygve Bjarkø with demands for reopening. – We have not received any response to that, but we are currently in dialogue with the chairman of the board. He has made some other proposals which we are considering, but which we do not want to go ahead with for the time being, says Kirsebom. Brattås kindergarten is now closed indefinitely. Photo: Guro Hatlo / news Færder municipality also gave Bjarkø’s company until midnight on Wednesday to state the status regarding the company’s financial basis for further operations. They write that if the foundation is lacking, the board is obliged to bankrupt the company. – We have not received any feedback on that, says the municipal director on Thursday morning. October supplement to September salary Bjarkø confirms to news that he has proposed a solution to the municipality. He says they are looking at how Brattås kindergarten can reopen without the company operating at the creditor’s expense. – I have been thinking day and night about how we can find a solution to reopen. And the proposed solution has been presented to Færder municipality on Thursday, says the owner. Tonje Rønning and Dag Atle collect things from the nursery on Wednesday. Photo: Guro Hatlo / news Nor does he want to go into details at the present time. Regarding the money the kindergarten has received in subsidies in October, Bjarkø says: – The municipality has known for over ten years that we have had weak liquidity, and that the subsidy that has been paid out at the end of the month has gone to salaries for the previous month. – As far as the parental payment is concerned, we hope that we will reopen. The parents will then be reimbursed for the days we have been closed. That is our primary goal as it stands today. If that doesn’t happen, the goal is for us to get paid back to the parents, he adds. Claims that the ball is in the municipality’s court – How do you react to what the municipality says about your obligation to parents and the municipality, and that the procedure here is unacceptable? Trygve Bjarkø, owner and general manager of Brattåsen kindergarten. The picture was taken by news in a different context in June 2013. Photo: Elin Martinsen / news – I have to carry out the duty I have to stop the loss for the creditors. So I have a duty to act. And that duty to act is absolute. – How do you approach the Kindergarten Act in this regard? – I don’t know what the law looks like in relation to the Kindergarten Act. What I am most concerned with now is finding solutions for the insanely difficult situation that the closure has put the parents, children and staff in. Legality of closure news has asked the State Administrator in Vestfold and Telemark whether closing the nursery overnight is legal. “The state administrator does not have the opportunity to assess the financial business conditions that have been discussed, as the Kindergartens Act does not regulate this.” writes subject manager in the upbringing department Selma Hadzic in an e-mail. news has also contacted the Directorate of Education with the same question on Thursday morning. “The Kindergarten Act does not have rules for closing down kindergartens. This means that the conditions you refer to are not regulated by the Kindergartens Act.” replies the directorate. NB: In the first edition of the answer from Udir, it was stated that the closure of nursery places is regulated by contract law. Udir states that this was a legal error. Bjarkø assures that the main goal is to open the nursery as soon as possible, provided that the regulations for operation are not broken. – Does the company have a financial basis for further operations? – I have come up with a proposal for a solution. The ball is now in the municipalities’ court, he believes. – How have you been lately? – The most important thing is how parents and staff are doing, says the Brattås owner. Will present a plan On Thursday evening, Færder municipality will hold an information meeting for parents and guardians. There they have said they will present a plan to look after the children. – What we are most concerned about and spend the most time on is securing a nursery school for the children. We will meet the parents tonight, and then we will have something to present to them, says the municipal director. Published 03.10.2024, at 16.22 Updated 04.10.2024, at 10.01
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Brattås kindergarten received millions just before it closed – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
