Residents of the village in the Stavropol Territory held a meeting against the closure of the school.

In the village of Vorovsky, the parents of students demanded to stop the liquidation of the only school. Local residents collected more than 50 signatures and sent complaints to the prosecutor's office, the president, the Investigative Committee, and the Commissioner for Human Rights.

Residents of the Vorovsky village in the Novoaleksandrovsky district recorded a video appeal demanding to keep the only school. They have already written dozens of appeals to various authorities, but officials remain adamant and refer to the liquidation as "optimization."

The video appeal of the villagers was published by the Telegram channel "Bloknot Stavropol," which has over 59 thousand subscribers. By 05:30 Moscow time, the publication had nearly three thousand views.

"We are addressing you, the residents of the Vorovsky village, we are fighting for our school, for our children to study close to home, rather than traveling on a broken road to a foreign village. We have written to all authorities - there are no responses, we have appealed to the president, the Investigative Committee, the prosecutor's office - there are no responses yet. The appeal to the Commissioner for Children's Rights was sent down to the administration of the Novoaleksandrovsky district, and the local authorities keep saying the same thing: not enough children, poor staff, the road is satisfactory," the gathered people say in the video, addressing the president of Russia.

According to residents, instead of the local school, local authorities are offering children to travel to the neighboring village of Temizhbekskiy, which is 10 kilometers away. There, the school is large, modern, and fully staffed with teachers. Parents categorically disagree with this decision by the authorities. According to the financial reports they received, expenses for the local school are steadily increasing.

"We do not know the whole picture, but we see an increase in funding. And against this background, they want to close the school. What is this, if not mockery?" residents are outraged, referring to the response from the administration of the Novoaleksandrovsky district.

People held a village meeting, collected more than 50 signatures, and referred to the law "On Education in the Russian Federation," which states that closing a rural school without considering the opinion of local residents is not allowed. As a sign of protest, parents even ignored the official meeting with the administration.

Parents expressed concern for the safety of children. The authorities assure that school buses are reliable, equipped with seat belts, and that students will be transported with the accompaniment of teachers. The road between the villages was slightly repaired in the spring of 2026, but it remains gravel. The project for major repairs costs tens of millions of rubles, but there is currently no money for it - they are waiting for a subsidy.

Local residents are convinced that transporting children on this road is dangerous. In autumn and spring, it turns into a complete mudslide, and in winter it is simply not cleared of snow - the bus can get stuck, and children will miss classes. Moreover, they will have to leave at seven in the morning when it is still dark outside. At the same time, according to residents, the official conclusion from the traffic police about the safety of this route has not been shown to the people.

"First-graders need to be taken to the bus, and little ones to kindergarten. Where is the guarantee of their safety?" worried villagers ask.

Parents are firmly convinced that transferring children to a foreign village will be a heavy stress. Moreover, closing the branch will deprive a local resident of her job, whose daughter currently studies at this school.

"We have children in our school whose fathers are fighting in the SVO. Three families, each with four children. They are already deprived of paternal warmth. And now we must deprive them of their native school as well?" the villagers ask bitterly.

In conclusion, the gathered people emphasized that they are not asking for privileges, but are asking to preserve the local school. "We cannot allow our village to become empty, for our children to travel through mud and snow to a foreign village. Please, keep the school in the village of Vorovsky," local residents pleaded.

The appeal of the villagers was commented on by the head of the Novoaleksandrovsky district, Andrey Akinshin, on his page on "VKontakte."

"I can comment on the situation with the appeal of the residents of the Vorovsky village as follows: first of all, we act in the interests of children. Our main goal is to provide children with a full education with proper teaching of subjects, extracurricular activities, and a modern material and technical base," wrote the head of the district.

According to the official, the building in Vorovsky is designed for 184 places, but in the past academic year, only 31 children studied there. The average class occupancy was less than four students. In the next year, the number of children is expected to decrease even further to 25, which means about three students per class. Maintaining a separate building with such occupancy is inefficient.

"The branch of school No. 4 in the village of Vorovsky was attached to the school in the village of Temizhbekskiy back in 2010. Since then, it has actually been a structural unit, not an independent institution," Akinshin emphasized.

Separately, the head of the district commented on the condition of the road. He assessed the gravel section between Vorovsky and Pervomayskiy as satisfactory - current repairs were carried out there in the summer. A cost estimate for major repairs has already been developed, but the project is currently waiting for a subsidy from the regional budget. The asphalt part of the road from Pervomayskiy to Temizhbekskiy, according to the head, is in order.

"Transportation has been organized on a permanent basis since 2010, this is not a new initiative. The distance is 10 kilometers. This year, two school buses will be used, and the routes have been agreed with the traffic police. The buses are in good condition, pass technical inspections, are equipped with seat belts, beacons, and tachographs, and each trip is accompanied by a teacher," his message states.

Akinshin informed that an official survey of citizens is scheduled for August 18, 2026, to take into account the opinion of the villagers regarding the closure of the branch.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that residents of two villages in Stavropol recorded a video appeal in which they complained that due to the lack of a scheduled bus, it has become a problem to get to school, college, hospital, or work.