Salzburg: Free kindergarten comes before the state elections in April
From the beginning of April, morning care for three to six-year-old children will be free of charge. The state will bear the entire 13 million euros for this. There is still no financial relief for the parents of children under the age of three.
SALZBURG. On Thursday morning, the five state parliament parties met for several talks on the subject of free kindergarten for three to six year olds. Actually, all factions wanted the free morning, when it should come and what the implementation could look like was discussed today, Thursday.
Free morning care
On April 1, 2023, the free kindergarten in the morning is to be introduced in Salzburg. The costs of around 13 million euros for this will be borne entirely by the state. The municipalities should not face any additional burden, it said on Thursday. The package is to be decided in mid-March before the state elections.
21,000 children between one and six years are currently in institutional care in Salzburg and with childminders.
Specifically, the financial subsidy for families from April 1 is as follows:
- Up to 1,080 euros for each child per year in the public kindergarten.
- Up to 2,130 euros for each child per year in a private kindergarten.
(The previous subsidy in 2022 was 150 euros per year for half-day care.)
This means that the kindergarten in Salzburg will be free in the mornings for all children between the ages of three and six.
Toddler groups not yet affected
There is still no financial relief for the parents of children under the age of three. However, another 4 million euros in relief are available for them, according to Neos. This money will lead to a significant reduction in parental contributions in the 2023/2024 kindergarten year. “Negotiations with the city of Salzburg and the association of municipalities are now beginning,” says Andrea Klambauer (Neos), the regional councilor responsible for the department.
ÖVP announces free kindergarten as a “choice of choice”.
The implementation was preceded by debates among the parties. Governor Wilfried Halsauer had at the ÖVP community conference last week the free kindergarten was unexpectedly announced after the state elections. No, the Greens and the SPÖ pushed for implementation before the election.
“ÖVP nailed to election promises”
SPÖ leader David Egger speaks of a successful action “to nail the ÖVP to the implementation of their own election promises”. “With the free half-day kindergarten for all children between the ages of three and six, the state of Salzburg has come a great deal closer to the social-democratic demand for free childcare,” says Egger happily. Together with Neos and the Greens, they prevented “the ÖVP campaign gag from being quickly forgotten after the state election.”
Neos want legal title
“A non-contributory kindergarten is the first quick, correct and important step towards real freedom of choice for parents and a necessary relief,” says the responsible regional councilor Andrea Klambauer (Neos), who sees a further need: “We want to make childcare non-contributory all day – in both public and private institutions. We also want the legal entitlement to a childcare place from the first birthday.”
FPÖ wants “Berndorf model”
For the under-threes, the Salzburg Freedom Party is the only party that has a different concept in mind. The Freedom Party rejects a halving of the contributions for children under the age of three. “We want the financial appreciation of family-internal childcare in the first three years of life,” says the liberal family spokeswoman Karin Berger, alluding to the “Berndorf model”.
The city of Salzburg and private childcare facilities are faced with a much bigger problem that needs to be solved: “Parents pay a multiple of the fees compared to facilities in the country. That needs to be solved,” says Berger.
AK: Start opening hours now
The Salzburg Chamber of Labor (AK) welcomes the decision to provide a free half-day kindergarten. “I am pleased that the election promise has not remained, but that this relief for families will be decided in the state parliament before the state elections,” says AK President and ÖGB state chairman Peter Eder and immediately sends the following wish to the future state government afterwards: ” For these, an extension of the opening times and comprehensive support in all communities must be at the top of the agenda.”
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