Unterföhring - The Unterföhring Music School is getting a new structure, after which municipal funds and state subsidies will also flow.
Wolfgang Greth, the managing director of the Association of Bavarian Singing and Music Schools, is accompanying the reorganization, at the end of which the Unterföhring Music School intends to join the association.
The municipal council unanimously decided on this new order.
The Unterföhringen music school will be given a new structure and will also receive municipal and state subsidies.
Wolfgang Greth, the managing director of the Association of Bavarian Singing and Music Schools, is accompanying the reorganization, at the end of which the Unterföhring Music School intends to join the association.
The municipal council unanimously decided to reorganize.
The Musikschule Unterföhring eV Wolfgang Greth has to provide all documents such as statutes, accounts and contracts by the beginning of September.
The concept must be available by October.
Tilted in the pandemic
In May it became known that the Unterföhringen music school was in financial distress due to the pandemic, and the liquid funds ran out in May.
After a tax audit from 2014 to 2019, the music school has to pay 31,000 euros in social security contributions for lecturers to the artists' social security fund.
In order to save the facility, which has been in existence for over 30 years, the majority of the local council decided to provide a rescue package of a maximum of 168,000 euros.
In the future only permanent employees
"We are on the right track," says Wolfgang Greth, who represents 220 music schools throughout Bavaria and has seen scenarios like the one in Unterföhring before.
The core requirement of the association: The Unterföhring music school must have a music education director and permanent staff.
Most of the employees in Unterföhring are already part-time, but there are still some honorary lecturers.
Subsidies from the Free State and a deficit compensation from the community bring security
In order to become a member of the association, the music school must also change its statutes.
The community of Unterföhring will be represented on the board in the future.
"The goal is transparency," explains Greth. Together with music school director Johannes Mecke, he will work out a budget, school and fee statute, as well as a content-related concept with a wide range of music educational offers.
As soon as the Unterföhring facility is a member of the association, it will draw up its annual budget, which the municipality and then the general assembly must approve.
The requirements are strict because the Association of Bavarian Singing and Music Schools distributes grants to music schools on behalf of the Ministry of Culture.
This funding and the short-time work allowance saved many music schools from the pandemic, explains Greth.
The Unterföhringen music school was excluded from this assistance, as it did not belong to the association.
So far, municipal grants have only flowed in the form of youth support.
Because every Unterföhringen club receives 40 euros per year for each active young person between the ages of two and 18.
“The grant to the music school has ranged between 12,000 and 15,000 euros per year over the past few years,” says treasurer Robert Beckerbauer.
In future, the municipality will compensate for the annual deficit in the budget presented.
Johannes Mecke is “happy” about the path he has chosen
Music school director Johannes Mecke, who in the meantime refused to objectively disparage the longstanding work of the music school, is “happy” about the path that has been decided and the clear signal from the community, which is now in favor of acceptance into the association. “We're not starting from scratch,” stresses Mecke. The music school had been on the path to joining the association for a long time. “Then the pandemic hit us. Above all, we missed the many groups in early musical education. ”The number of members fell from 550 before the pandemic to 400 members.
