The municipality does not subsidize seven schools because the voluntary parental contribution there is higher than 225 euros. These are schools run by ASVO school boards, the Cornelis Vrij Foundation, the Open Air Schools Foundation, the Willemspark School Association, Cheider and JBO.
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The schools have received a letter stating that they will not receive a subsidy. They could protest against that, the school boards have all done that. However, the city council did not agree with them.
Threshold
Alderman Marjolein Moorman decided earlier this year that the contribution that is asked from parents should not exceed 225 euros. ‘The Board sees a high parental contribution as a barrier for parents to enroll their child in a school. This threshold increases the inequality of opportunities, which I find worrisome ‘, she writes in a brief to the city council.
This concerns subsidies for, for example, subject teachers in culture, subject teachers in physical education, educational support staff and supervisors of lateral entrants. There were seven school boards that, because they would otherwise not receive the subsidy, lowered the parental contribution.
Not undisputed
The measure is not entirely uncontroversial. Forum for Democracy believes that schools should be able to make their own parental contribution determine and Esther Voet, editor-in-chief of the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad, says that the parental contribution of the Jewish schools is so high because of the security measures.
Alderman Moorman and her spokesperson have responded to Voet. They say security charges are exempt from this. This means that the amount that Cheider asks parents, which is higher than 225 euros, is not used for security, but only for activities, for example.
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