The road is actually a dirt road and the ground is mud. The rain has collected in the potholes. But maybe that doesn’t matter now. Nobody knows whether a construction crew will ever have to make its way to the field. Ralf Steinbrück no longer dares to make a prediction. The town urgently needs a new high school, says the mayor of Schöneiche near Berlin.
In leather shoes, he walks past puddles towards the field and spreads his arms: school buildings, gymnasiums, playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities, there’s room for everything here. And they have already thought of a name for the school in the town hall: Friedensgymnasium. The mayor likes it. He just can’t build the school for the time being – and that’s not because of the money. The regional water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE), whose area of responsibility also includes the electric car manufacturer Tesla, has intervened. He refuses to consent. The association fears for the water supply in the district, as there is not enough to be able to build another school.