If we don't enroll ten children in the first grade, the village will die.

A Sampieri the alarm grows for the fate of the elementary school in the seaside village. In the absence of a sufficient number of enrollments for first grade for the school year 2027-2028, the school risks closure, with heavy repercussions on a territory already fragile from a demographic and social perspective.

From the latest discussions, it has emerged that at least ten children need to be enrolled within a year. A goal that is currently distant, but many residents still believe is achievable if a concrete path is taken to bring families back to live permanently in the village.

«We have one year to enroll ten children – says a resident – we need to bring families to Sampieri. Everything else is sentimentalism or economic gain».

The reference is to the gradual transformation of homes into vacation rentals, a phenomenon that has emptied the village during the cold months, drastically reducing the presence of minors.

There is also an increasing demand for a more decisive commitment from the institutions. «We must rebel – declares Margherita Aprile Ragusa – they can merge Cava d’Aliga and Sampieri by providing a transport service for the children. This is called respect for the resident families who pay municipal taxes».

The issue of school transport is, in fact, one of the central issues: without an efficient service, many families cannot ensure attendance.

Even more emphatic is the intervention of another citizen, who finds it absurd that there is a risk of closure of the school due to the absence of a dedicated vehicle. «Or perhaps the children of Sampieri, like those of Cava d’Aliga, do not have the same rights as all the other children in the municipality?», he provocatively asks.

The closure of the school would not only be a disservice, but a blow to the identity of the village. When a classroom goes dark, a town loses vitality, attractiveness, perspective.

Without families and without children, Sampieri risks becoming a place only lived in during the summer, devoid of that social continuity that has constituted its strength.

From here comes the residents' appeal: policies for the return of families, incentives for stable housing, adequate services, and a vision that goes beyond tourist seasonality. Only in this way can the school continue to exist and, with it, the heart of the community.

The challenge is open. And time, the citizens remind, is short.