Agreement Between Federation and States: Federation to Finance All School Staff in the Future

At the center is the principle of "personnel from a single source." In the future, schools are to be able to access all staff categories through the education directorates – from teachers to school psychologists to non-pedagogical staff. "The education directorate steers and the Federation pays the school staff," it was said from the Education Minister's office. The separate responsibilities of Federation and states are to formally remain in place, as was emphasized by the ministry: "Die Landesstränge und der Bundesstrang bleiben erhalten," it was said. "Vorteil: Alle Personalkategorien werden über die Bildungsdirektion gesteuert."

Personnel from a Single Source

A central project is the creation of a new personnel group: the "support pedagogues" (Unterstützungspädagogen). These are to receive a nationally uniform training and, in contrast to the current leisure pedagogues, may also be deployed during learning time and in class. Wiederkehr expressed his conviction that this would make the profession more attractive, since support pedagogues would no longer be deployed only for the currently usual two to three hours in the afternoon.

The Federation takes over the financing of these new staff, so that rising maintenance costs of the municipalities do not slow down the expansion of all-day schools. The decision on where new all-day schools are established, however, remains with the states. "Wir wollen es systemisch erleichtern, aber wir machen jetzt keine Planwirtschaft bei den Ganztagsschulen," said Wiederkehr.

New Role for Support Pedagogues

The agreement also brings innovations in the early childhood sector. For the first time, minimum standards are to apply to kindergartens: a maximum of 15 children per group for children aged zero to three and 22 children per kindergarten group, to be implemented within ten years. The child-to-caregiver ratio is set at five children per educator for the youngest and eleven for older children. The basis is a "Bildungsqualitätsrahmengesetz" (Educational Quality Framework Act), which defines minimum standards for group sizes, staff-child ratios, and qualifications of assistants.

Currently, responsibility for kindergartens lies with the states. In the future, responsibility is to transfer to the Federation via a constitutional amendment. The financing of areas subject to the new federal quality standards will be handled through the financial equalization scheme, no longer through 15a agreements. In addition, "dynamic financing" was agreed upon: if the Federation requires smaller groups in the future, it must transfer correspondingly more money, as Marchetti explained: "Das ist auch wichtig für die Gemeinden, damit sie besser planen können".

Kindergartens to Receive Nationwide Minimum Standards

In the future, schools will receive a unified budget pot covering all professional groups, instead of separate positions for teachers. This will allow the locations themselves to decide how to allocate their resources between teaching and other professional support. Wiederkehr announced his intention to initiate the necessary constitutional amendments in parliament still this year. However, some parts of the reform would only take effect in later legislative periods, the Minister acknowledged: "Manche der Einigungen würden ihre Wirkung aber erst in den nächsten Legislaturperioden zeigen."

The teachers' union FCG reacted cautiously. Its chairman Paul Kimberger spoke in the STANDARD interview of the current reform announcement containing "viele Überschriften und Ankündigungen," but lacking central implementation details. At the same time, the compulsory school teachers' union supports the principle of "personnel management from a single source." "Das wäre eine große Erleichterung," said Kimberger – they had pushed for it at the beginning of the reform process. However, it is crucial for school administrations to have "möglichst wenig bürokratischer Aufwand und viel mehr Entscheidungskompetenz am Schulstandort selbst." "Jetzt müssen sie immer überlegen: Wer ist eigentlich zuständig?," said Kimberger.

Unified Budget Pot for Schools

Christine Obermayr, chair of the association of pedagogical leaders, expressly welcomed the one-stop-shop principle: in the future, schools could access school psychologists centrally. At the same time, she warned that support pedagogues must not become "Ersatzlehrkräfte" (substitute teachers) and demanded a clear job description as well as high-quality training. For school administrations, a clear point of contact in the education directorates is also necessary, said Obermayr.

The IHS education researcher Lorenz Lassnigg was more critical. The level of the education regions must be strengthened, he said; cities as nodes of school networks, in which higher education is concentrated, also deserve more weight. He views the upgrading of the education directorates alone with skepticism, because there "pädagogischer Dienst" and "Präsidialbereich" continue to act separately. His suggestion: "ganz klare Eckpunkte und eine transparente Übersicht beim Bund." The attempt to unify compulsory and higher schools, he said, fails due to political reality.

Reactions from Unions and Research

From the teachers' perspective, it does not matter which public body pays the salary anyway, said Kimberger: "Den Lehrerinnen und Lehrern ist es egal, ob sie ihr Geld vom Bund, vom Land oder von der Gemeinde bekommen." What matters is to be "ein einheitlicher Ansprechpartner für die Schulen." School administrations need a counterpart instead of "eigenartiger Kompetenzüberschneidungen," as was said in the STANDARD interview.

The role change of former school inspectors to overarching quality managers for all school types has in many places even led to an "Autoritätsverlust." The reform leaves these power relations untouched. Indeed, the reform partners are also not touching this education-policy structure now, as observers note.

Open Questions and Timeline

On balance, key challenges in the compulsory school sector – increasing support needs, outdated school buildings – remain unmentioned in the paper according to teacher representatives. The future for "Best Education for All" fits on 32 lines: eight describe the challenges, 13 formulate goals, eleven name five measures for kindergartens and schools.

Wiederkehr expressed confidence that this time an agreement with the unions would be reached – two years ago, similar plans by his predecessor Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) had failed due to the resistance of the teachers' unions. Until actual implementation, however, it is "ganz, ganz viel Arbeit," according to the Minister. The education reform is considered a deep-reaching agreement in his area.

The reforms will not take effect immediately. Implementation will be spread over several years, it was said from negotiating circles. Concrete timelines for the individual measures – from the creation of support pedagogues to the new group sizes in kindergartens to the bundling of personnel management – are to be worked out in the coming negotiations between Federation, states, and municipalities.