Education gives grants for school material for 2nd cycle of Children Education to 871 students

The City Hall has allocated to this call 50,655.01 euros

Seven local businesses have collaborated in this initiative

Benidorm City Hall has given grants for the purchase of school material to a total of 871 students of 2nd cycle of Early Childhood Education who study in schools in the city supported by public funds. The department of Education, headed by the mayor Toni Pérez, has allocated 50,655.01 euros to this call. In total 984 applications had been submitted to this call, 1% more than last year. Of these, 871 petitions have been processed, while the remaining 113 have been denied for not presenting the justification of the expenditure made on school material -82 cases- or because students were not registered in Benidorm -21 cases. More than 75% of beneficiary families have already received the grant, and the rest will do so in the coming weeks. The beneficiaries have received a grant of 60 euros per student, based on expenditure justified of school material. The average grant has been set at 58.16 euros, since 145 applicants have justified a payout of less than 60 euros. This circumstance has caused that the total amount destined to grant was of 1.604,99 euros less than the previous course in spite of having grown the number of beneficiaries. This year this call for grants has been made in collaboration with the local commerce. Thus, and through an agreement, seven establishments selling school material have participated in the initiative as collaborators. With this measure the City Council has sought to delve into the connection between families and local businesses, thus avoiding the escape of spending to other commercial areas. The call for grants was opened last June. The parents had two months to submit the application accompanied by a budget for the purchase of material they planned to carry out for the new school year. During the months of September, October and until November 18, the families have submitted the invoices of the disbursement made in school material. The mayor and delegate of Education has recognized "the important effort made by schools in the city to reduce family costs in the purchase of school materials at the beginning of the course, helping especially families with fewer resources."

2nd phase Xarxa Llibres

Pérez has also reported that the City Hall has already paid the second phase of the free textbook program, 'Xarxa Llibres'. Of this second phase 1,841 students of Elementary, Secondary and Basic Professional Training have benefited, who have received the corresponding grant after having returned the books in good condition to their respective educational centers. The total amount transferred to this program - financed in equal parts by the Generalitat Valenciana, Diputación Provincial de Alicante and the City Council - has been 128,094.89 euros.