If you could send a Christmas greeting to the Ministry of Education for private schools in Bavaria, says Peter Kosak, spokesman for the Board of Free Schools, then it would be: that the improvements that have been made in the state school system will also reach private schools. . If the student-teacher ratio improves in state schools, then the ratio should also improve in private schools. But the fact is, Kosak says, only a fraction reaches private schools. His explanation: The Ministry of Education calculates differently, to the detriment of private schools. Especially in high school, nothing has improved in years.
Using the example of school psychologists, Kosak tries to explain the dilemma of private schools: If the Free State of Bavaria makes more hours available for school psychologists, this should also have an impact on private schools. But that doesn’t happen. “But parents see what’s in state schools and expect the same from us. But we have to bear all these expenses, they are not refinanced”.
200,000 students in private schools
Almost 15% of Bavarian schoolchildren attend private schools. There are around 200,000 children and young people in Bavaria. In the public eye, these schools, whether run by a church, Montessori, Waldorf or other associations, are often “the schools for the children of the rich,” complains Kosak. But it’s not true. At his school in Augsburg, parents would have to pay just 35 euros a month.
Free State has to bear the personnel costs
State and private schools in Bavaria are similar in one respect: They are struggling with teacher shortages and rising energy costs. The difference, however, is that private schools have to fix these problems on their own. The Free State is obligated to fund tuition. This means that the operational costs, i.e. personnel costs, must be borne by the Free State. However, private schools have to pay all other costs themselves. “Of course it is true that we fall under the hardship fund. But no one knows by what criteria and when the money will be paid. But now we have to pay our bills,” Kosak said.
“Feeling Like Supplicants”
Andrea Wiericks of the Association of Waldorf Schools would like the Ministry of Education to have a certain duty of care. “A duty of care that is not satisfied with the fact that we are also under the wing of the school’s supervisory board. But that also takes into account that our parents pay tuition and continue to pay tuition.”
Anne Tyroller from Munich Montessori often has the feeling that private school children are “second class children”. “What annoys me the most is that we are taking on a very responsible task for the state and we feel like signatories,” says Tyroller.
The associations are also annoyed by the fact that the Ministry of Education no longer wants to hire teachers for private schools. In the past, Kosak says, it was common for teachers to be able to switch from public service to private schools. Teachers would have been able to maintain their civil service, private schools would have paid the teacher’s salary to the state plus an important surcharge. Today, with teacher shortages everywhere, that is no longer possible. “We can’t compete with the state system. We can’t fund the benefits of being a civil servant,” says Kosak.
“We save the Free State several million every year,” agree the associations of the various private schools. If all students were to be educated in state schools, it would be much more expensive, calculating in unison.
Buildings cost a lot of money
Most private schools own their own school buildings. This means that responsible parties have to pay themselves to a large extent for their maintenance, new construction or renovations. For the Schulwerk of the Augsburg diocese, headed by Peter Kosak, this means that all construction projects have been on hold since June. “We’re trying to save, but obviously we can’t do it forever. At least we’ll make it through the money this year.”
Almost two billion budgeted
Education Minister Michael Piazolo (FW) was not available for an interview. His spokesperson only said that the Free State had never spent so much money on private schools as in the 2023 budget. According to the draft budget, nearly two billion are planned, of which about ten million more is for private secondary schools . The Free State assumes almost 100% of personnel costs and is therefore the national leader. The Ministry of Education leaves open why not 100 percent of the costs.
Peter Kosak of the Council of Free Schools can only smile wearily: staff costs are only a small part of the costs incurred. According to his calculations, Bavarian private schools are missing 64 million euros every year. Even though the Free State pays more, costs have risen accordingly. At a rally in Munich today, private schools want to draw attention to their financial needs.