Only one out of three was closed: another kindergarten in the Korabelnyi District has been shut down

Deputies supported the closure of preschool institution No. 138

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01 May 2026

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дитсадок №138 (вул. Олега Кравця, Балабанівка)

In Mykolaiv April 30, 2026, during a city council session the deputies were able to approve the closure of only one preschool — No. 138, located at 79 Oleg Kravets Street in the Balabanivka neighborhood. 29 votes were cast for this decision, which was enough for adoption.

By contrast, the proposals to close kindergartens No. 104 and No. 128 did not receive the required number of votes and were effectively defeated.

As explained by the head of the education department Hanna Lychko, kindergarten No. 138 has not been operating since the beginning of the full-scale war, and restoring its operation is impossible due to the lack of conditions for arranging a shelter. Moreover, the institution has a small design capacity — only for 26 children. Nevertheless, during the period of downtime staff continued to be paid 2/3 of their salaries, and the building was even partially heated because it has its own boiler house.

During the discussion, deputy Olena Kiselova drew attention to budget expenditures during the war and raised the question of the efficiency of using preschool staff who are not working. She also asked whether there are waiting lists for kindergartens, particularly in the Korabelny District. In response, the head of the education department reported that there are no queues in the city, and some institutions even have available places.

Head of the education department Hanna Lychko during the session discussion explained the situation regarding the absence of waiting lists and parents’ ability to choose institutions:

“Since this kindergarten is located in Balabanivka, the nearest kindergartens our children attend are 101 and 134. But parents choose themselves. In the Korabelny District we have no waiting lists… I’ll tell you more, I would like there to be more children in the operating in-person kindergartens. There are available groups”, – reported the head of the education department Hanna Lychko.

Separately, the official emphasized that the issue of privatizing kindergarten buildings is not being considered at the moment, and such decisions are not within the competence of the education department.

Deputies, among them Dmytro Sichko, expressed the view that such facilities should be preserved for future use after the war — in particular as social institutions or renovated kindergartens. Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych supported this position and noted that the buildings are currently planned to be mothballed, keeping them on minimal heating during the winter period.

Also during the session the issue was raised of involving educators who were idle to work with children removed from families and temporarily placed in hospitals. According to Hanna Lychko, such staff were involved in 2022, but now some of them refuse to transfer to other vacancies, despite their availability in operating kindergartens.

Another kindergarten — No. 128, 62-A Pavlo Skoropadskyi Street is designed for 78 children. According to Hanna Lychko, the buildings were built before 1917 and there is no basement. Most of the educators moved to other institutions. In 2025, 2.5 million hryvnias were spent on maintaining the kindergarten. Only 24 deputies voted for the liquidation of No. 128. The decision was not adopted. Likewise, a decision was not adopted regarding kindergarten No. 104 on Torgova Street. Its maintenance in 2025 cost 2.6 million hryvnias. Before the war there were about 60 children in it, while it was designed for 31 children. The nearest kindergarten is No. 140.

Ultimately, the deputies agreed only to the liquidation of one institution, leaving open questions about the further fate of other kindergartens and the efficiency of resource use in the education sector during the war.

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