– We are in the very south of a huge county. We often feel overlooked, says Jeppe Arnesen, group leader for Sør-Odal Venstre. They have long believed that Sør-Odal is best served by being part of Akershus. After the county council in Innlandet recently decided to close the secondary school in the municipality, he says that this became even more relevant. – That made the cup run over. – The cup ran over In total, two secondary schools and four secondary schools were decided to be closed down. Among these was Skarnes secondary school, which is located in Sør-Odal municipality. Several in the municipal council believe they now have even greater reason to look towards Akershus. – We are a growing municipality, we have increased immigration, and among young people. When they now close the secondary school in Skarnes, we think that we are not a relevant part of Innlandet, says Anne-Mette Øvrum, group leader and former mayor of Høgre. – I feel that there is a great deal of agreement that this was the final straw for us in Sør-Odal. Anne-Mette Øvrum, group leader for Sør-Odal Høgre, believes that the closure of Skarnes vgs. made it even more relevant to discuss changing counties. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news Has previously applied At the same time, Øvrum is aware that this has been up for discussion in the past as well. At the latest in 2018, Sør-Odal applied to become part of the then Viken county, but was refused by the Storting. – We in Sør-Odal Høgre have for several years been clear that we wish to be heard in Akershus. In the last ten years, we have considered ourselves part of the Oslo region, says Øvrum. Both she and Arnesen (V) point to the fact that many workers commute south to Akershus. – In terms of commuting and work, it is quite clear that we are connected to Akershus and the Oslo area to a much greater extent than we are to Innlandet, says Jeppe Arnesen. Jeppe Arnesen, group leader for Sør-Odal Venste, believes that there are many reasons why Sør-Odal should belong to Akershus. He believes, among other things, that the county roads in their area are not given priority. Photo: Andreas Asphaug – Will not be seen or heard Mayor of Sør-Odal municipality, Knut Hvithammer (Ap), says that there will be a round about this in the municipal council. – I’m leaning that way too, but it shouldn’t be done in an affective way now. There are many positive arguments for it, but a thorough process must be carried out, he says, and points out that the matter has also been raised before. Thomas Monsen, leader of the Sør-Odal Labor Party, also mentions that the matter has been on the tip of several politicians’ tongues for a long time. – But Innlandet county council and the Innlandet Arbeiderparti have put this matter on the agenda for us now, says Thomas Monsen. Thomas Monsen, manager of Sør-Odal Ap, is disappointed with the way the school case has been handled. Photo: Birgitte M. Linden – We are disappointed by the process and that the Labor Party does not listen to the grassroots in the party. – We have expectations of our own party, and the way the school issue has been handled in Inlandet is not in line with them. In the main, the rest of the leaders of the local law agree on the issue of changing counties. See here what they think: Marit Thoner, leader of the Sør-Odal Pensioners’ Party – We are very open to moving to Akershus, and it is of course the school issue that is the reason for that. She believes that their region is a low priority in the interior today. Arild Borglin-Graven, group leader for Sør-Odal Frp – Personally, I think it is the way to go, he says, who does not want to speak on behalf of the entire local team. He agrees that the issue became more relevant after Skarnes vgs. was adopted. But he points out that there is much more to the matter. – There is a backlog on county roads. Many students prefer other offers than Kongsvinger has. And if we go towards Akershus, trains will be cheaper, and perhaps better public transport. Bjørn Siegwarth, head of Sør-Odal Bygdeliste Changing counties is something they have wanted for a while, and it is in their election program for 2023. – We are grateful that it’s showing up now, but it’s a bit of a wrong time. Many perceive this as sewing, but that is not what we are talking about. It is the last straw that makes us not understand why we should be in Inlandet. Gulbrand Thoner, local team leader in Sør-Odal INP (Industry and Business Party) Thoner completely agrees that it is right to have the debate about changing counties. He on the other hand, think that it is the wrong time, since they think it seems that this is only coming up due to the closure of Skarnes vgs. He believes the issue would have come up anyway. Sigrun Kristoffersen, head of Sør-Odal SV Kristoffersen believes it is difficult to know whether the solution is to move to Akershus, and thus become a small district municipality in another county. But they can take part in mapping the advantages and disadvantages. Egil Wang, leader of Sør-Odal RødtWang will only speak on behalf of himself, since they have not raised this as an issue in the team. – We who sit on the municipal council for Raudt want this discussion, and I personally want to apply to Akershus. He believes the decision to close the school did not make it any less relevant. – The school case has made it clearer that we should apply to Akershus. Heidi Hitland, local team leader for Sør-Odal Sp – I am terribly disappointed that Skarne’s progress has been shut down. She says that it is natural that the discussion comes up again now that the school was decided to be closed. They have not discussed the issue of changing counties in Sp this time, but she herself believes that such a case must be carefully investigated for advantages and disadvantages for the municipality. I will support that it is investigated, but will not say that I will automatically vote for us to move to Akershus. Thomas Breen, county mayor in Inlandet for the Labor Party, points out that they have had a process with many decisions in the county party on this matter in both annual meetings and representative bodies. – There is definitely a learning point in this case, which has been going on for over two years. Responsibility for the party political processes lies with the board of the Inlandet Arbeidarparti, he wrote in an email to news. I hope Sør-Odal will understand that the school case has been demanding. At the same time, he hopes that Sør-Odal municipality will remain in Innlandet. – It is obvious that the school thing is demanding, and no one likes to lose their education. It is both understandable and natural. Sør-Odal itself has been through its own school case which was demanding, he writes in an e-mail. Thomas Breen, county mayor in Inlandet for the Labor Party. Photo: Knut Røsrud / news – Local team leaders in several parties think that Sør-Odal is being de-prioritised and overlooked as a municipality in the interior, when it e.g. applies to maintenance of the county road network and public transport services. Do you agree with that? – No, but we have now had to get money from, among other things, transport to subsidize the running of schools. And even though we have the largest county road network in the country, we see that the government’s investment is not sufficient for the backlog we have. – We will increase investment in transport in the coming years as a consequence of the school case. Published 31.10.2024, at 09.32
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The school case “made the cup run over” – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
