Shortage of teachers and financial struggles persist
In 2021, the school budget in Baden-Württemberg was primarily focused on maintaining and upgrading educational infrastructure, with significant capital investments made towards school renovation, construction, and maintenance.
The municipal council in Stuttgart, the state capital, committed to a long-term school renovation program, allocating around 40 million euros annually over more than a decade to reduce renovation backlogs, and an additional 18 million euros yearly for ongoing maintenance and repairs[1]. Major projects like the Feuerbach Campus (198 million euros) and the NeckarPark education center (93 million euros) were underway to improve school facilities, but are scheduled for completion later, by 2025 or mid-2029[1].
Despite the focus on infrastructure, there is no detailed evidence from the available results indicating any substantial or formal policy changes affecting class sizes in Baden-Württemberg's schools that year. Budget issues appear to be primarily managed through infrastructure investment rather than immediate operational adjustments such as class size reductions or increases[1].
Internal papers aim to bring changes in resource allocation for schools to a conclusion, differently than expected[2]. However, no confirmation or denial of unrest caused by these internal papers regarding planned changes in resource allocation for schools has been made public.
School principals are reporting problems, such as organizing preparation classes for children without sufficient language skills and necessary temporary positions[2]. Current class sizes could fall due to bottlenecks at many places, with a new class being formed in primary schools from the 29th child, but potentially increasing to 31 if classes are to have at least 15 children[2].
Rumors of a million-dollar hole in the budget of the Ministry of Culture are not confirmed, but demographics are acknowledged as not fully reflected[2]. The state is currently in the first year of a dual budget[2].
The article can be shared on various platforms, including Xing, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Facebook, email, and via a Staatsanzeiger subscription[4]. The Ministry of Finance did not want to recognize the increase in student numbers as inevitable, and there are voices among education politicians in the government factions who suggest that problems could be resolved through "smart balancing"[2].
[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4]
- The municipal council's focus on school renovations and maintenance in Stuttgart, part of the management of the school budget in Baden-Württemberg, has not resulted in any significant policy changes regarding education-and-self-development, such as class size reductions, as of 2021.
- Amidst budget issues and demographic challenges, there are ongoing discussions about smart balancing among education politicians in the government factions, which could potentially impact the general-news area of politics, including school funding and resources.
