Agreement between Education and Benabarre for the CRIE during 2025/2026
The Government of Aragon has approved the new agreement between the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the City Council of Benabarre for the development of the Rural Center for Educational Innovation program during the 2025/2026 academic year. The CRIE will remain in the facilities of the local hostel following negotiations that have achieved significant improvements for the operation of the educational program.
Main Improvements of the Agreement
The fundamental modification establishes that the CRIE will be used exclusively for educational purposes during the school year, excluding the Christmas and Easter holidays. Until now, it was also used as a hostel on weekends, which generated complaints due to the need to assemble and disassemble the materials weekly.
From October 1 to June 12, the City Council will lease the entire building for the exclusive use of the CRIE. During holiday periods, from December 20 to January 6 and from March 28 to April 6, 2026, the classroom space cannot be used as a common area by hostel users.
City Council Commitments
The agreement obliges the City Council to maintain the facilities of the building continuously. It must install partition panels in the third-floor room, as requested by the CRIE team to work in separate groups due to the lack of other rooms. Additionally, the City Council will allow the use of the library during morning hours.
Pending Aspects and Expense Distribution
The Department considers it essential to offer a dining service in the facilities for the 2026/2027 academic year, as users currently have to travel twice daily to the school for lunch and dinner. This has been a recurring complaint in the activity reports of the center from the participating schools. Students will continue to use the dining hall of the CPI Condes de Ribagorza.
Education will provide the CRIE with the budget for the program’s ordinary expenses and will assume the costs of cleaning, security, electricity, water, sewage, heating, waste management, and elevator services during active days.
