Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, held the "1st Education Development Deliberation Committee of 2026" at the city hall conference room today (Nov. 5) to review the necessity, appropriateness, and scale of support for next year's educational expense support projects.

The deliberation covered a total of 11 cases, including nine educational support projects, one regional education cooperation project, and one school facility environment improvement project.

The total requested budget for educational expenses for next year amounts to approximately 175 billion won across 26 projects, with Goyang's share accounting for about 53.4 billion won.

In particular, this deliberation reflected the results of improving the cost-sharing ratio for education cooperation projects, which Goyang has been requesting since last year.

Through consultations with the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in August, the city adjusted the previous 50-50 cost-sharing ratio between Goyang and the provincial education office to 40% for Goyang and 60% for the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education.

This is significant in that it establishes a rational financial burden-sharing structure by comprehensively considering project characteristics, institutional roles, and the financial conditions of local governments.

The adjusted sharing ratio was applied to the draft budget requests for major education projects next year.

For the school facility environment improvement project, out of a total of 6.25 billion won, Goyang will shoulder 2.5 billion won and the education office 3.75 billion won.

For the support of commuter buses for high school students with long-distance commutes, out of a total of 560 million won, Goyang will share 224 million won and the education office 336 million won.

A budget request was also made for elementary swimming safety education totaling 1.36 billion won.

Through this adjustment, Goyang has laid the groundwork to alleviate its financial burden while expanding financial resources from the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to scale up educational projects.

Moving forward, the city plans to utilize the secured financial leeway for new educational demands and provide students with more educational support opportunities.

A city official stated, "We will continue to strengthen cooperation with the education office to enhance the efficiency of fiscal management and ensure that these outcomes lead to the substantial expansion of educational opportunities for students."

(Photo provided by Goyang City, Yonhap News)