Linjamäki School as a space for culture and community and, at the same time, a resource for teaching, council initiative

Councillor Eeva-Liisa Nieminen and several other councillors presented the following initiative:

Initiative 12 May 2025 Linjamäki School as a space for culture and community and a resource for teaching Linjamäki School was closed despite the fervent wishes of villagers and parents. The pupils were transferred to Ruukki School, a modern learning environment where first-year pupils study in large groups of over 70 pupils, which are divided into smaller groups according to the timetable. The school has been empty since 2020. The strategy talks about the service network and the municipality’s appeal and retention power. A key part of this is also keeping villages vibrant. Culture, sports and youth services are core tasks of the municipality alongside actual education. As the prevailing trend has been to centralise services, which often means long journeys for residents of northern Tuusula, in the interests of fairness and equality, journeys to the north can also be made from southern Tuusula. What if one node in the cultural network were located at the traditional village school in Linjamäki?

Linjamäki School is an old, idyllic building that was renovated in the 2000s. It is in very good condition, with stylish, cosy and modern details and interior surfaces. We propose that the school building be used as a cultural, recreational and event venue. The space could be used to organise exercise and yoga groups, theatre performances and youth activities, for example. It would serve the villagers and other residents as a versatile community space.

Our festival organised a concert at our school last summer, and the venue was very inspiring and suitable for highly successful concerts. I am sure there will be interest in continuing to use the venue in the future.

The number of pupils at Kellokoski School varies greatly depending on how new residential areas are built. According to very unofficial and unconfirmed information, there will be approximately 40, 60 and 80 pupils in these age groups in the autumn. As new areas are under construction and will hopefully be completed, it is important that Linjamäki School remains a reserve facility, enabling provision for special education, immigrants and small groups. The school would also be particularly suitable for organising school camps, as it is located close to nature, next to the rocky formations of Lake Ancylus and only a few kilometres from the magnificent, rugged Kerava River canyon and a skiing trip away from Ullamäki rock. Tuusula schoolchildren could head there for nature lessons, using the school as a base. Linjamäki School was built in 1917 and is a prominent and beautiful part of the village’s identity. It is hoped that its uniqueness will be preserved, revitalising the village and the Tuusula countryside. Creating a cultural and community space could strengthen the village and increase its appeal and retention power, alongside infill construction and improvements to public transport. Linjamäki School should be removed from the list of properties for sale.

Since there are other closed village schools in Tuusula, I suggest that they all be incorporated into Tuusula’s network of cultural, sports and community facilities.

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