At its meeting on 23 October 2023 (§80), the Education and Welfare Board decided to declare the position of Library Director vacant, with the last day for applications being Wednesday 8 November 2023 (at 15:00). One qualified applicant applied for the position, who was interviewed on Friday 10 November 2023. The interview was attended by Leila Törmä, Chair of the Education and Welfare Board, Vilja Lankinen, Director of Welfare, and Paula Latvajärvi, the current Library Director.

The recruitment notice was published on the municipality's website and on the municipality's official notice board.

The person elected to a permanent position must be formally qualified at the time the position is filled. Application documents are available for viewing at the meeting and are archived in the Office of Education.

When filling a position, the provisions of the Equality Act and the prohibition of discrimination in Section 12 of the Act on Employment Security for Municipal Officials Act, as well as the general appointment criteria for public positions laid down in the Constitution, are taken into account.

According to the administrative regulations of the municipality of Kihniö, the education committee decides on the election of the library director.

The Education Committee's proposal for the budget for 2024 and the financial plan for 2024-2025.

General: Salaries are reviewed on a job-specific basis. A 3% increase is included in salary costs. The Education Board's net income consists of the above-mentioned personnel costs and other expenses at the 2023 level.

Early childhood education: Early childhood education is centralized in Kihniö at the Kettukallio daycare center. For 2024, the requirement of the Early Childhood Education Act regarding the future staffing of early childhood education teachers has been taken into account, which will increase salary costs.

In accordance with the legal obligation, all children under school age and those in need of special care are guaranteed a place in early childhood education. The number of young children is likely to increase in the budget year, which may also affect the number of staff. Schoolchildren are in day care only when they need care in the morning before school starts.

Grammar school: There is one comprehensive school in Kihniö, covering grades 1–9. The staff includes a principal, teachers, school counselors and support staff. The central goal of pre-school and primary education is to create a safe and consistent path for students after early childhood education through the lower and upper grades of Kihniö Comprehensive School to high-quality post-pre-school and primary education further studies. The municipal strategy also aims to develop new innovations, e.g. through technology, diversify the elective subject tray, increase entrepreneurship education, increase business cooperation and teach skills that support well-being.

With the development of the number of students at Kihniö Comprehensive School on the primary school side, the first combined classes will be considered at the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year at the latest. As an alternative to combined classes, the possibilities brought by flexible primary education will be investigated during the 2024–2025 school year, i.e. the possibility of forming a more unified whole from pre-school education and the first two years of basic education will be investigated. The aim is to create a coherent learning path and take into account the child's skill and development level as well as possible and individually. The fate of the upper classes will be considered at the beginning of the next decade.

The government contribution received by the municipality will remain approximately unchanged. The income and expenses of the home municipality compensation must be recorded in the accounts.

The new curriculum for basic education has been introduced in Kihniö in stages between 2016 and 2019. The main idea of ​​the new curriculum is to lower the boundaries between subjects and increase multidisciplinary projects. A special focus area in the new curriculum is to add information technology teaching to every subject on a cross-curricular basis. All preschoolers in the municipality attend preschool at Kihniö Comprehensive School in their own separate preschool group. Basic and special education teachers are assisted by school counselors.

The school transport tender was held in 2021. The new contracts are valid until 31 July 2024, after which it is possible to agree on 1+1 additional option years. A six percent fixed-term increase in transport costs has been made in 2023 due to increased fuel costs.

A permanent, comprehensive special education teacher was hired in 2023. The working time of the comprehensive special education teacher is reserved mainly for primary school students and preschoolers. The goal is still that the comprehensive special education teacher will focus on treating the learning difficulties of the youngest students. The comprehensive school has two small special education groups, staffed by two special education teachers and school counselors. Special education has been separated into its own budget item.

Morning and afternoon activities for 1st and 2nd grade students will continue in the 2023-2024 school year, as at least 10 children have registered to participate in the activities. At the time of preparing the budget, 12 children are participating in the activities. The instructors are school attendance counselors. The educational service receives state aid for morning and afternoon activities. Compensation is charged for morning and afternoon activities based on the time the child is present in the morning and afternoon activities. The goal is to continue the activities in the next school year, i.e. in the fall of 2024, if there is sufficient need to establish a group.

Support services:

In accordance with national regulations, the budget has separated administration, catering and cleaning into separate support service units, the costs of which are divided into different budget items.

Administration: The personnel expenses of the administration include part of the salary expenses of the newly established welfare director position (50%), the principal position (100%), and office secretaries (32%), as well as the salary expenses of the Wilma manager (46%). The appropriations reserved for the Education Board's fees and travel allowances are in the Education Board's administration item.

Food service: The personnel costs of the kitchen staff of the comprehensive school and the budget for raw materials are distributed to different budget items approximately in proportion to the number of diners.

Clearout: The personnel costs of the cleaners, as well as the necessary laundry services and cleaning agent appropriations, will be distributed to different budget items according to the dimensioning in proportion to the cleaners' working hours. The cleaning services will be re-dimensioned in November 2023. The cleaning services will be re-organized in the 2024 budget year.

Other educational activities:

Library: The library's goal is to provide all citizens with information, culture, entertainment and opportunities for study. Kihniö Library maintains its already established cooperation with schools and promotes reading among children and young people, for example in the form of reading diplomas and book recommendations.

At the end of 2023, the current library director (20%) will retire. A new library director (100%) will start in 2024, after which the library will have a full-time library director and a part-time (50%) library clerk. Through the PIKI library, customers have easy and quick access to the collections of libraries throughout Pirkanmaa.

Music and Civic Institute: The funds will remain at the previous year's level. They will enable basic studies to be completed and provide recreational opportunities.

Exercise and leisure activities: The aim is to maintain operations at almost the current level and to organize a wide range of sports opportunities and other activities for children, young people and adults of different ages. The leisure service employs a leisure instructor (40%). The projects will finance any other employees.

The budget for 2024 has allocated 8.500 euros for grants to the sports sector. The leisure sector provides associations and organizations with equipment, facilities and sports venues to organize sports schools.

The new gym has reached the residents of the municipality well and offered diverse opportunities for exercise. The goal is to continue the gym operations at the current location and develop the operations based on a customer survey. 10% of the leisure instructor's work input has been budgeted for gym operations.

Youth activities: The budget has allocated 11.500 euros for youth work grants, of which the municipal government will decide the amount of the salary grant to be paid to the 4H association. 40% of the leisure time instructor's work input has been budgeted for youth work.

A youth farm will be established during the budget year, for which a grant has been applied for from the project. Youth development (AVI).

Cultural services: The Cultural Secretary's duties are performed by the Director of Welfare. The Cultural Department organizes various events and exhibitions within the limits of the budget. The Kihniö Day, Veterans' Day and Independence Day celebrations continue to be organized. The parish cooperates with the congregation in organizing the celebrations. The Cultural Department also participates in organizing the Art Festivo week, youth street festivals and other cultural events, if the Ministry of Education and Culture grants a project grant.

The cultural services will cover the salary of the Puumila guide for the period 24.6.2024-28.7.2024.

Museum services: The museum has been open during the summer from Tuesday to Saturday. The municipality organizes the museum's opening hours itself. The museum services will cover the museum guide's salary for the period 24.6.2024-28.7.2024.

Promoting well-being and health: The promotion of well-being and health will be transferred to the cultural sector from the beginning of 2023 with the establishment of well-being areas. This year, the cultural board has also been changed to the cultural and well-being board and the job description has been redefined in the administrative regulations. The personnel costs of the director of well-being (50%) have been recorded under the promotion of well-being and health item.

Agenda attachments:

The budget of the Ministry of Education for 2024 and the financial plan for 2024–2025 (text part) (Appendix 1).

The decisions of the office bearers will be reviewed at the next meeting.

• Let's arrange the next meeting time.