As a result, “the independent school authorities are further disadvantaged in the area of staff recruitment,” it continues. Unlike the state, which is responsible for state schools, the independent school authorities do not have the necessary financial resources to be able to offer their teachers comparable bonuses. They also see themselves as disadvantaged because teachers in Thuringia have been made civil servants again for several years. In independent schools, teachers are usually employed.
Ten percent more money possible
Since 2022, the state has been granting newly hired teachers ten percent of their starting salary as a special allowance for five years if they meet two of these three criteria: subject in need, region in need or type of school in need.
The region of need is the entire Free State with the exception of Erfurt, Weimar and Jena, as well as the districts directly adjacent to these cities. According to the Ministry of Education, subjects of need include physics, biology, computer science, English, sports and art – provided these subjects are not taught at a primary school.
Goal: no surcharges after changing from a private school
The state working group now wants to ensure that such bonuses are no longer granted in the future if the teachers were previously employed at independent schools, as stated in the letter. In principle, teachers can still switch from independent schools to state schools, while a competition-distorting pull effect of the tax-financed special bonuses can be ruled out. “We expect the Thuringian Ministry of Education to ensure that the shortage of teachers at state schools is not remedied through tax-financed distortion of competition at the expense of independent schools.”
Few bonuses paid out so far
Current figures from the Ministry of Education show that only a few Thuringian teachers have recently been lured by the payment of special bonuses, for example in regions with a severe shortage of teachers. In the current year, such payments were granted for 106 civil servants, the ministry recently said in its response to a query from FDP state parliament member Franziska Baum. Last year, the money was approved for 209 civil servant teachers. “In one case, the special bonus was paid to prevent migration, in five cases as part of teacher exchange procedures, and in the remaining cases when new employees were hired,” the ministry wrote to Baum.
Rather, the bonuses seem to trigger free-rider effects: They are often paid to teachers who would have taught in rural areas anyway, for example because of family ties. The chairman of the Thuringian Teachers’ Association, Tim Reukauf, also criticized the bonuses a few weeks ago for precisely this reason. “It’s not like these bonuses are being celebrated in teachers’ rooms.” While teachers newly hired into the teaching profession receive more money, those who have taught in rural schools for decades do not receive any additional money. “This does not really relieve the core team,” said Reukauf.
