The lack of space would not be a problem, as the municipality of Bad Wiessee on the western shore of Lake Tegernsee has just had a brand new building built next to its school for childcare. It is due to open after the summer break. It will then be able to offer 100 places in the kindergarten, 120 percent of the current demand, according to the municipality’s website.
Two other entries are placed much more prominently: “Job advertisements for day care centers” and “Job offers for Bad Wiessee day care center” are right on the homepage. Since the community surprisingly announced in the spring that it would separate from the Protestant church in the Tegernsee valley as the operator, a massive shortage of staff has become apparent. As things stand, 75 of the last 100 day care center children will soon no longer be able to receive any care. The parents want to demonstrate this Thursday.
They are demanding that all children should get their day-care center place in September – and if the new operator cannot manage this, then they should return to the old one. But the situation is complicated and tangled. In the new building, nursery and kindergarten children will be cared for under one roof, all under the direction of the Catholic Church. The Protestant parish had previously been responsible for the nursery and the day-care center for primary school children, but now no longer felt wanted in either. They know how to use the necessary staff elsewhere, because they maintain a number of other facilities around Lake Tegernsee in their valley-wide network.
Instead, the municipality has handed over the day-care center to the Rosenheim Diakonie, another Protestant-based provider, but one from outside the area, which can now only offer a quarter of the places for the time being due to a lack of staff. All attempts to lure the existing teachers away have been met with more or less outraged rejection. A second day-care center group could be opened in the fall, a third in the spring, it was announced at an information event held by the municipality a few days ago. The event caused quite a stir. The surprised parents are suddenly under pressure, because even in the affluent Tegernsee, most parents have to work – and with normal incomes, both have to work, especially in order to be able to afford to live there. Life in Tegernsee is also anything but cheap for teachers, who are already in demand nationwide.
The vague prospect of having more daycare places in a few months is far too uncertain for parents, which is why they are now seeking support from the state government and from District Administrator Olaf von Löwis (CSU) in Miesbach. Although he is not responsible, he is offering to act as a mediator. At the same time, he is irritated that disputes between individuals and institutions are being fought out at the expense of the parents. It is unclear whether Mayor Robert Kühn (SPD) and Protestant pastor Martin Weber will ever be able to reach an agreement again.