A new round of controversy has erupted on the island, as the mayor of Kythira, Efstratios Charchalakis, sent a scathing letter of response to the Principal of the Kythira General High School, Eleni Megalokonou, regarding the cancellation of the cultural event organized by the Kythira Village Association, which had been scheduled for July 25 in the school courtyard.
In response to Ms. Megalokonou’s allegations regarding failure to follow legal procedures and inadequate safety measures, the Mayor maintains that the Municipal Authority acted within the prescribed framework to facilitate a traditional collective event.
The following is the unedited response from the Mayor of Kythira:
On July 17, 2026, at 7:12 p.m., which is a non-working day for public services, you sent to the Municipality’s main email address, from the official email account of the Kythira High School, which you head, the letter with reference number 459, which you also forwarded to the Piraeus Directorate of Secondary Education. This letter of yours, which was clearly written in a great hurry, contains a host of inaccuracies that were circulated throughout the local community, as on August 2, 2026, Sunday at 6:51 p.m. (a non-working day), you posted it on the high school’s Facebook page, which you are responsible for.. Regarding the matters raised in your letter, the following points should be noted::
Under current regulations, school buildings are the exclusive property of the municipalities, which are responsible for them and are in charge of their maintenance, repair, and utilization, within the framework established by law, given that they are public facilities intended primarily for the provision of public education.
Under an explicit statutory provision, the Municipality is permitted to use school facilities to host cultural events (e.g., summer programs, cultural activities, lectures, talks, conferences, book presentations, etc.). To this end, a relevant decision must be adopted by the competent municipal body, which must be communicated to the school principal. This is the only requirement that the law imposes on the school principal.
It is clear and unambiguous that the School Principal has no supervisory authority whatsoever over the Municipality; that is, he does not supervise, nor does he verify the legality of the actions of the Municipality and its individual or collective bodies. In this sense, it cannot overturn decisions made by the Municipality, nor is it authorized to review whether a decision by a municipal body is lawful or whether the municipality is following the procedure prescribed by law for the transfer of the school building. This authority rests exclusively with the relevant Decentralized Administration, which reviews the legality of the actions of local government units. Consequently, everything stated in your document clearly exceeds your authority, and any subsequent attempt to justify it cannot change the facts..
Please note that the postponement/cancellation of this event is in no way related to the views you expressed in your aforementioned letter, in which you go beyond what is appropriate and artificially attempt, in an unacceptable manner, to accuse the Municipal Authority of a lack of respect for the high school premises («conversion of the school grounds into a dining area» etc.), a view that borders on slander and which you have, in fact, disseminated to thousands of citizens who read your letter online.
In light of the above, I urge you to limit yourselves exclusively to the duties prescribed by law for your position, which do not include, even in the slightest, the review of the legality of municipal decisions.
Furthermore, I urge you to post this letter verbatim on the high school’s websites so that the public may be informed about the other side of the issue as well, rather than receiving only one-sided information..
Finally, I am confident that you will demonstrate the same level of dedication in addressing any potential incident within the school that disrupts the smooth operation of the school environment, regardless of its source, whether now or in the future..
Assuming that I have made myself perfectly clear, I will not return to this issue, and I remain,
Sincerely,
THE MAYOR
Eustratios Ath. Charhalakis
that is, a non-working day for government agencies
Sunday at 6:51 p.m. (non-business day)
Apparently, the days off bothered him the most.