As of: February 16, 2024, 5:02 p.m
By: Hanna von Prittwitz
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Caring for the little ones costs more and more.
In Weßling there is a significant increase in fees, which has triggered an emotional debate between the community and parents' councils.
© Annette Riedl/dpa
Planned increases in contributions for daycare centers are worrying families in Weßling.
There is criticism of the restructuring of the fee landscape.
An online petition was uploaded to change.org.
Weßling
– In times of tight budgets, contributions for daycare centers in Weßling also increase.
The last increase was barely a year ago and was comparatively small, but the next one for 2024/2025 and the following year is now due.
The community and parent councils have been discussing the numbers for months.
In an open letter, the Weßling childcare interest group criticizes the municipality's approach and pricing policy.
The local councilors want to decide at the local council meeting on March 5th.
The interest group is made up of parents' councils from daycare centers and lunchtime care.
Savings also had to be made in other cities and municipalities and fees were rising.
“But in Weßling the situation is completely different,” says the letter that the parents’ council also sent to the daily newspapers.
“As a result of hastily arranged meetings and information events that were neither transparent nor announced in advance on the municipality’s homepage, most families are currently faced with contribution increases of an average of 100 euros per child per month this year.” One is planned another increase by the same amount.
“It is completely clear to all of us that everyone, including young families, must make their contribution to the current difficult financial situation,” the parents write.
It is also clear that good childcare costs money.
“We have already gotten used to the annual premium increase.
According to our impression from recent discussions with each other, we are quite prepared to support reasonable contribution increases spread over several years." But the figures currently in the room are completely out of the question "and, in our view, represent an unacceptable interference with financial planning and existence of families”.
When asked in which areas the municipality would make further savings, the only thing mentioned was the elimination of subsidies for music lessons in the Gilching music school, “which mainly affects children and their families”.
Despite declining staff numbers, closed daycare centers and childcare shortages in which parents repeatedly have to organize care themselves, a “disproportionate fee policy” is being pursued here, which could maneuver some parents into financial hardship.
Mayor Michael Sturm understands the parents' needs.
In an interview with Starnberger Merkur, he recalled that in the concept being discussed, for example, daycare fees would be reduced by more than 100 euros, i.e. 20 percent.
“If a family has one child in crèche and one in kindergarten, they save more than 20 euros a month.” Compared to the fees ten years ago, the municipality has reduced costs.
“All parents in the past paid significantly more than they do today, because there were neither subsidies nor other payments from the state.” Since 2021, the Free State has been subsidizing parental contributions for the entire kindergarten period with 100 euros per child per month.
After months of discussions, statements from the parents' council at the Regenbogen Children's House that there should be no increase at all are not very constructive, says Sturm.
He criticizes the fact that the mood is sometimes created with false numbers, including in the petition that was uploaded to the Internet by parents' councils.
“We all want good care and we are working on solutions,” he says and asks for objectivity.
The tariff increases for educators cost the community more than 100,000 euros.
This was partly passed on to the parents via the fee increase, but did not cover the entire cost.
A further increase is planned for March.
“This is definitely the right path for employees in this area,” confirmed yesterday Michael Klinke, who is responsible for childcare in the community.
“But money doesn’t grow on a tree.” Families can find a list of additional funding at familienland.bayern.de if they cannot cope with rising fees.
The community has now invited all parent councils from the daycare centers and the Sonnenblume Protestant kindergarten to an information exchange in the auditorium of the new elementary school on Friday, February 23rd.
Start: 7 p.m.
The parents' councils are asked to discuss the community's proposals and submit a written statement by February 26th.
This will be discussed and decided at the local council meeting on Tuesday, March 5th.
Numbers and calculation examples
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There are currently six daycare centers and lunchtime care in Weßling.
The current 327 children are looked after by 55 employees.
In 2023, income was around two million euros, expenses were 3.7 million euros, and the mathematical deficit was around 1.7 million euros.
A total of 525,000 euros should be allocated through fees, divided over two years of care, according to the municipality's proposal in a calculation that is available to the parents' councils.
About 20 percent of the community's expenses go toward child care.
After the restructuring of the fee regulations, for example, a place in kindergarten (nine to ten hours) costs 231 euros (minus the funding contribution that the Free State has been paying of 100 euros per month since 2021).
Today the parents pay 113 euros.
A place in an after-school care center (six to seven hours) now costs 188 euros, in the future it will cost 273 euros (there is no subsidy for this).
The increases are to be staggered over the next two years.
A calculation example from the parents' council: A family sends two children to the forest kindergarten, one school child attends the after-school care center.
Parents currently pay 177 euros (six to seven hours) for a place in the forest kindergarten, of which the Free State pays 100 euros.
In the 2024/2025 kindergarten year, parents would receive 129 euros more, and in 2025/2026 this should be increased by another 129 euros.
That would ultimately be 335 euros per child.
The after-school care visit will cost 85 euros more in 2024/2025, and there will be a further increase of 85 euros in 2025/2026.
Ultimately that would be 358 euros per month (today 188).
The family will then pay 1,028 euros per month for childcare in two years.
That would be 686 euros more per month, according to the parent council's calculation.
For comparison: A place in a kindergarten in Gilching (eight to nine hours) costs 210 euros, minus the 100 euros from the state, i.e. 110 euros.
A visit to the forest kindergarten in Seefeld (association) costs parents between 61 and 93.60 euros net.
In Starnberg there is a staggered fee increase of 55 percent.
In the 2025/26 care year, instead of 79 euros (eight to nine hours), you would have to pay 282 euros for a kindergarten place (after deducting the state subsidy).