Compromís spokesperson, Ignasi Garcia, recalled that it was the municipal government itself that commissioned the Municipal School Council to develop a proposal on the distribution of educational zones, given the rejection of the single-district model by a large part of the educational community. "Carrasco asked the members of the Municipal School Council to work on a zoning and enrollment proposal. Families, teachers, and representatives of the educational community dedicated time and effort to prepare it, but when the result did not align with the ideological vision of the Popular Party, they simply ignored it," Garcia denounced.
According to Compromís, the proposal developed by the Municipal School Council advocated for a model that favors proximity between students and educational centers, reduces dependence on private vehicles, strengthens neighborhood life, and facilitates the creation of an educational community in school environments. "We are talking about a proposal worked on by people who know the city's educational reality and who sought to improve families' lives. Ignoring it is a lack of respect towards everyone who participates altruistically in these spaces," stated the Valencianist spokesperson.
Compromís considers that this case is not an isolated incident but part of a governing style that disregards citizen participation when it goes beyond institutional window-dressing. Garcia recalled that the coalition has also recently denounced the situation of the Municipal Agrarian Council, a body that the government continues to not convene despite legal obligations and the current context of difficulties faced by the agricultural sector.
"We have an Agrarian Council that does not meet when it should be discussing issues as important as the future of local agriculture, food sovereignty, or the effects of climate change. And we have a Municipal School Council that does work and makes proposals, but is subsequently ignored. The result is the same: participation does not serve to influence decisions," he lamented.
For the Compromís spokesperson, this attitude demonstrates a superficial conception of citizen participation by the municipal government. "For Carrasco, participation is fine when there are inaugurations, photographs, awards, or public events. But when organized citizens participate to plan the city, improve education, define agricultural policies, or build future projects, then their contributions are ignored. This shows that they do not truly believe in participation, but only in its staging," Garcia concluded.
