25 Students Must Move as Orivesi Campus Faces Heating Cut

Twenty-five high school students must unexpectedly move out of the Orivesi campus. The cooperative that runs the site said it had run out of funds to pay heating bills and that district heating will be cut on Monday, 5 October, according to YLE.

Housed in the former Orivesi Folk High School and run by cultural cooperative Pro Orivesi, the 9,000-square-metre property cannot be kept warm on current rental income, the cooperative warned. If heating cannot be secured, campus operations will end. Around 20 other residents and more than 20 businesses also rent space there, raising concerns about finding replacement premises in Orivesi.

The cooperative alerted the city in early September after requesting help. The municipality is offering affected students apartments owned by the municipal housing company on Ahotie, about three kilometres from the town centre. Pupils may also apply to other Kotikoivu properties or the open rental market. City manager Juha Kuusisto said the municipality understands the added stress for students and families and wants to provide practical support, but that it cannot financially rescue the cooperative.

Earlier coverage examined the municipality's sale of a 50% stake in the local district heating company in May the city’s May decision on Oriveden Aluelämpö, and noted similar local cases this summer left residents temporarily without heat a July report on Killinkoski bankruptcies.