It should start next year – at least with the concrete planning for the necessary expansion of the Ismaning grammar school. The background to this is the return to the G 9 and the associated increase in the number of pupils. In Ismaning alone, according to the Munich district, an additional need for 125 students must be expected, as it was said in the municipal council meeting on Thursday evening. So it needs space for another five classes. In addition, according to forecasts by the municipality, it is already becoming apparent that the grammar school from the school year 2025/26 will have to have five classes in order not to have to reject children and young people from the municipality. As soon as the first year group reaches the 13th grade due to the changeover from eight to nine years, the projected requirement would increase to ten to eleven additional classes.
Great demand from parents and students
Mayor Alexander Greulich (SPD) and the local council are pleased that the ISGY, as the school is called, is such a successful model. On the other hand, however, this also means that a lot of money still has to be invested in order to meet the requirements. But because the Corona crisis is also having an impact on the finances in Ismaning, the local politicians have agreed to plan in sections and to expand step by step. In order for an extension to be possible on the property at all, the escape routes have to be rearranged and the former conference hotel demolished. According to the municipal council resolution, this should not take place until 2023; However, planning for the expansion must be in place by the end of next year in order to receive state funding for the renovation and expansion. If this promise is there and the municipality knows how high the subsidies are, the excavators could roll in. “That would give us some time to breathe,” said Greulich for the committee’s approval.
In addition, the Ismaning-based company is considering removing the cramped space in the cafeteria in a second construction phase. Already today, the schoolchildren have to eat in shifts, which is not only due to the corona-related hygiene regulations, but also to the great demand for hot dishes, as the mayor said. Therefore, not only will the number of available classrooms have to be increased to up to 14 rooms in the future, but another multi-purpose room will also be needed, which can then be used for lunchtime. This is the result of a feasibility study. This also advises the municipal council to use synergies when the school is expanded. For example, the basement of the conference hotel directly under the extension could be preserved, which would reduce the expenses for the demolition of the old building.
Should the number of pupils continue to rise so rapidly, further construction phases for the enlargement of the school complex could follow in the distant future. “Then of course you have to think upwards and in all directions,” said the mayor. These decisions would probably only have to be made by subsequent generations of municipal councils.