Erfurt (dpa/th) - The Greens consider the financing of a free lunch for their offspring in the Thuringian kindergartens and schools to be hardly affordable. The leader of the Greens, Astrid Rothe-Beinlich, said on Wednesday in Erfurt that the amount would be in the three-digit millions every year. "We have to think about what we spend money on in times of limited funds," said Rothe-Beinlich. "I don't see that we're going to get that financed." She was reacting to a decision by the SPD party conference last weekend in Suhl.
It is planned that the red-red-green coalition will present a new kindergarten and school law to the state parliament in November. In the kindergartens, the Green parliamentary group primarily relies on better quality of care through more staff. You see yourself confirmed by a representative survey, said Rothe-Beinlich.
In addition, there is currently a debate about the preservation of the language day-care centers, which only received money from the federal government for a transitional period. If the project is to be continued in Thuringia, an annual amount of around 4.5 million euros is required.
According to the Greens parliamentary group chairmen, the new day-care center law should bring a better childcare ratio for children aged 3 to 6 years and another non-contributory day-care center year, probably from summer 2024. There are currently two non-contributory kindergarten years in Thuringia. A center for early childhood education is also planned.
The Greens put the additional costs resulting from the improvements with a new day-care center law at around 30 million euros in 2024 and 70 million euros in the following years.
