The Association of Mayors of France (AMF) protested on Friday against the elimination on September 1, 2024 of the support fund for the development of extracurricular activities (FSDAP), already reduced this year by half, denouncing “a brutal decision without consultation”.
The 2024 finance bill (PLF) plans to eliminate this allocation, which had benefited over the 2021-2022 school year, for 41 million euros, to the 1,462 municipalities still practicing the five-day school week.
While school activities are already planned for the year 2023-2024, the AMF discovers that the executive has decided, by decree of September 20, to reduce by half the support fund allocated to the municipalities remaining a week of 4 and a half days, then to completely eliminate it for the start of the 2024 school year, assures the association in a press release.
She strongly denounces this sudden decision which concerns aid supposed to be taken, demands that the amount of aid returns to its previous level (…) and that the elimination of the fund, as provided for in the PLF 2024, be canceled.
In the budgetary documents published on Wednesday, Bercy recalls that the FSDAP, created in 2013, was conditional on an organization of weekly school time over nine half-days or eight half-days including five mornings.
But in 2017, the State allowed municipalities to choose an organization over four days, which 87% chose in September 2018.
Thus, the number of beneficiaries is clearly decreasing, since, for the 2014-2015 school year, 22,616 municipalities still benefited, for 381 million euros.
Given the residual aspect of the system (…), the support fund is therefore canceled.
Bercy assures that this will make it possible to mobilize resources to consolidate the measures undertaken directly for the benefit of students, such as Learning Holidays, Rural Educational Territories and Local Support Contracts.
The municipalities which have chosen to remain on a 4.5 day week (…) have a proactive educational policy which must be supported by the State, according to the AMF.
On October 11, she will reveal the results of a survey on school activities, which illustrate the commitment of mayors to implement an ambitious educational policy despite the difficulties.