OGS: Municipality of Bestwig decides on moderate adjustment of parental contributions

A high-quality childcare programme that combines social learning and meaningful leisure activities: the open all-day school (OGS) at Andreas Primary School in Velmede has been running for almost 20 years. The council of the municipality of Bestwig has now decided to moderately adjust the parental contributions.

The parental contributions are a building block for financing the OGS programme - in addition to the municipality of Bestwig's own contributions and funds from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In recent years, the costs that the municipality of Bestwig has to pay for the OGS programme have increased - the parental contributions, on the other hand, have not been adjusted since the corresponding statutes have been in place.

In addition, the level of parental contributions in the municipality of Bestwig is also below average in comparison with other HSK municipalities. In order to improve cost coverage, the municipal administration therefore proposed a moderate increase in parental contributions. In the contribution scale, the contributions should therefore increase from an annual parental income of 37,000 euros - only slightly in the lower income groups and somewhat more for higher incomes:

Example: parents with an annual income of up to 49,000 euros should pay 90 instead of the previous 80 euros per month for their child; in the highest income scale from 61,000 euros, 150 instead of the previous 110 euros will be due. In order to avoid social hardship, the income limit for the lowest contribution scale will increase from the previous 15,000 euros to 17,000 euros, unchanged from the previous 15,000 euros per month. Overall, the municipal administration expects the amended contribution statutes to generate additional income of 4,000 euros per year.

However, at the meeting of the main and finance committee, the SPD parliamentary group requested that the project be referred back to the parliamentary groups. Committee member Kadir Yildiz argued that, on the one hand, they wanted the cost increases in OGS operations to be clearly explained. And secondly, they wanted to submit their own proposal for a finer graduation of income groups.

However, the CDU and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen rejected this proposal with their majority. According to CDU parliamentary group leader Alexander Brockhoff, social hardship would be avoided by not making any adjustments to the lower income groups up to an annual income of 37,000 euros. And on the other hand, the municipality of Bestwig is still in the lower mid-range in terms of contribution levels, emphasised Alexander Brockhoff: "I can't see any social hardship here at all."

Both in the meeting of the main and finance committee and in the final meeting of the municipal council, the CDU and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen voted in favour of adjusting the parental contributions - with the SPD parliamentary group voting against. The amended fee regulations can now come into force for the new school year.