Covid-19 – CO2 sensors in schools: mayors throw the ball back to the state

Once again, Thursday January 13, at the end of a day of mobilization in National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer indicated that the purchase of CO2 sensors for schools falls within the competence of local authorities and not of State. A reading which does not seem to please the Association of Mayors of France which, through a press release this Friday, affirmed that it “was akin to an inelegant, and offbeat way in terms of the stakes, for the state to shirk its responsibilities”.

And explain: “Public health policy and the management of the health crisis fall exclusively within the competence of the State, as has been recalled on several occasions by the executive. However, the acquisition of CO2 sensors by voluntary municipalities does not does not fall under their compulsory expenditure for schools, but intervenes within the framework of the management of the health crisis decided at the national level”. Consequently, the AMF confirms that it is asking that the financing fund currently of 20 million euros be sufficiently topped up to guarantee full financial compensation for these purchases from town halls by the State.

At the beginning of December, the Minister of Education was surprised that only 20% of schools were equipped with CO2 sensors and that few municipalities had requested funds. “I am once again appealing to the mayors for a rise in power in this area, and this fund will be increased if necessary”, he had launched, regretting that some are trying to make it a subject of controversy (on December 20, the EELV candidate had qualified Jean-Michel Blanquer as “partner in crime” of the virus, pointing to the insufficient number of CO2 sensors in schools).

However, the AMF considers that “the minister forgets to specify that no information of magnitude has been made by his

community service”. “In addition, the amount of reimbursements offered, which penalizes rural municipalities and priority neighborhoods due to their lower numbers, is disproportionate to the reality of the expenses incurred. Finally, the reimbursement procedure is not well known to the services decentralized from the State and difficult to control by the communities because of its complexity. All this constitutes as many brakes on the equipment of the schools”, says the AMF.

The Chairman of the AMF, David Lisnard, would also like to remind “the great difficulties of municipalities in maintaining the proper functioning of schools, school catering and extracurricular reception, in a context marked by the complexity and incessant changes in health rules announced without consultation, and the problems of replacing staff affected by the Covid or contact cases”.