Plans for the new school in Tervuren’s Moorsel are now cited at €28mn rather than the pre-electoral €10mn. Mayor Thomas Geyns and his team is talking of a lively village square school for some 300 kids, safely off the main road behind the parsonage. The building could even be available for community use outside school hours with talk of a community shop.
The dramatic price hike comes as Mayor Thomas Geyns, 28, pushes forward €74mn municipal spending plans between 2026 and 2031. Construction of De Fonkel 2.0 is tentatively scheduled to start 1 January 2028 and finish in 2029. There has been no mention of expropriation. And town administration promises appropriate consultation with locals, especially those on adjacent properties.
“N-VA and Voor Tervuren introduced a new culture of openness in the municipal council,” Geyns said. He has even scheduled an information session specifically for Moorsel residents.
Geyns had written €10mn into his electoral program for the new school. He was then talking of the Flemish government allocating subsidies worth €7mn. The 30% remaining would be paid by Tervuren’s taxpayers. But before the elections the €10mn estimate made no mention of architects, lawyers and other experts’ fees nor even VAT.
Explainer: why the jump?
- Original estimate: €10mn, assuming €7mn in Flemish subsidies; remainder from local taxpayers.
- Additional costs ignored in Geyns’ 2024 electoral program: architects, legal fees, and other experts, first raised the estimate to €12.2mn.
- Additional design ambitions and unforeseen expenses now bring the total to a tentative €28mn.
- Understating cost estimates is a good tactic to secure approval especially before elections.
Tervuren’s finances will be stretched already stretched:
- Planned investment: €74mn (2026–2031)
- Debt increase: from €23mn (2025) to €40.7mn (2030)
- New loans: €39mn at 3.5% interest over 20 years
- Tax pledge possibly unsustainable: supplementary personal tax stays at 6.7%
- Reality check: with the Moorsel school alone costing €28mn, even Flemish government subsidies may not be enough.
Other expensive projects?
- €20mn overhaul of Diependal sports complex and Nettenberg youth facilities
- €4.1mn museum celebrating Tervuren’s unique Flemish history (Panquin building)
- €3mn in property purchase subsidies for residents with stronger local ties
- €10mn master plan for Zoniën residential care site
With the Moorsel school nearly tripling in cost, Tervuren will face hard questions about long-term fiscal health. Geyns has promised there will be no increase in the supplementary personal tax of 6.7%. But the town’s debt trajectory could put serious pressure on municipal finances by 2030, raising the risk that ambitious civic projects come at the expense of financial stability.
Even as town grandees talk up 70% Flemish subsidies, Tervuren may still be stuck with a hefty chunk of the €28mn bill. The subsidy applies only to a narrower pool of eligible costs, potentially leaving the municipality on the hook for €18–20mn or more. Anything beyond the approved scope is 100% for Tervuren taxpayers, including a village square, community shop, infant daycare center, non-school sports use, landscaping, design flourishes, furniture, legal disputes, delays, and several million in VAT.
N-VA to save town finances again?
Sound Tervuren finances were restored from 2012 to 2024 under the leadership of previous N-VA Mayors Marc Charlier and Jan Spooren. They reduced debt from €70 million to €20 million. As Governor of Flemish Brabant, Spooren still has limited administrative powers to suspend or propose annulment of municipal decisions, notably if they violate budgetary rules or procurement law.
Spooren also still maintains a keen eye on town politics through his wife, alderwoman for Flemish Character and Education Annemie Spaas and also through Mario Van Rossum, who chairs the town council, ethics committee and also works as an advisor by daytime for Spooren.
Costs may also be kept down thanks to Geyns’ particular expertise and professional contacts. As Mayor, he has taken over competence for urban planning (stedenbouw) and is a lawyer by daytime, even pleading cases for clients at Belgium’s Court for Permit Disputes.
