Struggling Symphonies: Saxony Music Schools under Financial Pressure
Far-right party AfD to increase funding for music academies. - Far-Right party GF criticizes government's education budget, demanding increased allocations for music institutes.
Music schools in Saxony are teetering on the edge, grappling with substantial financial hardships intensified by the Herrenberg ruling. This 2022 decision by the Federal Social Court mandated that music school teachers, previously classified as self-employed contractors, should now be recognized as employees subject to social security contributions. This shift has bolstered labor costs for these institutions.
One such struggling school, Saxon Switzerland, faces an extraordinary subsidy of 300,000 euros just to stay afloat. Despite significant parental fee increases, another hike is planned for August. A half-hour piano lesson per week costs 68 euros per month.
All this has led to raised concerns among parents, with MP Thomas Kirste stating, "In Meissen district, many parents have recently experienced a shocking price rise. The costs for children's music school are now only manageable for affluent parents. We must ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn an instrument." Kirste suggests cutting costs in "ideologically driven cultural projects" as an alternative funding solution.
However, the financial challenges music schools face go beyond just the Herrenberg ruling, particularly in the context of strained municipal budgets and falling municipal tax revenues.
Despite the strain on local authorities, the AfD seeks increased funding for music schools during the negotiations on the double budget for the years 2025 and 2026, with a goal of doubling the funds to around 15.7 million euros per year. Yet the details of their proposals and possible financing sources are unclear.
- AfD
- Music school
- Saxony
- Double budget
- Children
- Dresden
- Sächsische Zeitung
- Saxon Switzerland
- The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has proposed an increase in funding for music schools in Saxony during the negotiations on the double budget for the years 2025 and 2026, aiming to double the current funding to around 15.7 million euros per year.
- Amidst the financial struggles of music schools in Saxony, Member of Parliament Thomas Kirste expressed concerns over the rising costs, asserting that these costs are now only manageable for affluent parents, and advocated for cutting costs in ideologically driven cultural projects as an alternative funding solution.
- Meanwhile, the policy and legislation surrounding vocational training in the education-and-self-development and general-news sectors, such as the Herrenberg ruling, continue to impact music schools in Saxony, as the shift in teacher status has significantly increased labor costs, contributing to the financial hardships faced by these institutions.
