The Unterföhring music school is on the way to an economically and legally stable future. The new management of the sponsoring association has approved the new statutes drawn up by the municipality with legal support. Mayor Andreas Kemmelmeyer (PWU) and the association’s chairman Miriam Merz-Hildenbrand have also signed a contract that stipulates the future financial participation of the municipality in the music school.
Has cleared the way for a new beginning: the previous music school board, Unterföhring’s third mayor Johannes Mecke.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
With the new statutes and the contract, the music school in Unterföhring now fulfills the conditions to be accepted by the Association of Bavarian Singing and Music Schools. As a result, the local political representatives of the community hope that the music school will be more stable in the future.
The music school was on the verge of insolvency in 2021 after a considerable shortfall had accumulated due to loss of income during the corona pandemic, such as the loss of early musical education. In addition, after a tax audit for the years 2016 to 2019, the facility had to pay social security contributions of 31,000 euros for its lecturers. At that time, after a controversial debate, the municipal council decided to protect the music school from insolvency and to compensate for the shortfall – albeit under certain conditions.
One of the conditions was a new statute in close coordination with the Bavarian Music School Association and inclusion in it. This allows for government funding. The third mayor, Johannes Mecke (Greens), who had founded the music school 30 years ago, also withdrew from the association’s board of directors for a fresh start. Miriam Merz-Hildenbrand and Eelco Molenaar now lead the club.
In return, the municipality pushed ahead with debt relief for the music school. In order for the balance to remain positive, the municipal council should monitor the association more closely in the future and approve the music school’s annual budget.