Saxony-Anhalt: free schools win more money: how much is still unclear

Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - From the point of view of the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt, the state has paid too few grants to private schools and must now improve.

Saxony-Anhalt: free schools win more money: how much is still unclear

Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - From the point of view of the Higher Administrative Court of Saxony-Anhalt, the state has paid too few grants to private schools and must now improve. A decision made on Tuesday on the lawsuit by three schools served as a model for further proceedings pending in the administrative courts, said a spokeswoman for the higher administrative court in Magdeburg on Wednesday. The country must recalculate the grants based on the verdict. The court could not say anything about the amount. The verdict is not yet legally binding. According to the court spokeswoman, an application for revision at the Federal Administrative Court is possible.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education said it was not yet clear how much more expensive it would be for Saxony-Anhalt. The written reasons for the judgment must be awaited. It is important that there is now legal clarity.

According to the spokeswoman, the court found that the country had set the grants in part contrary to applicable regulations. It did not comply with its own legal requirements. Specifically, it was about the 2017/18 school year. Free schools have been complaining for years because the state has paid them less to pay teachers than they are entitled to based on their experience. According to the Association of German Private Schools in Saxony-Anhalt, more than 100 lawsuits from alternative school authorities are pending in the state's administrative courts, including for subsequent school years.