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Education Needs Ideas: School Principals Discuss Ways Out of the School Crisis with PoliticiansWhen schools do not function properly, it is not only due to a lack of teachers or limited resources – but often also to a lack of imagination in the search for solutions. This thought was not expressed verbatim during the education discussion on March 18, 2026, at Schuhmanns Garten in downtown Weißenfels, yet it was clearly present in the room. 
The discussion round had been organized by directly elected CDU state parliament member Elke Simon-Kuch together with her parliamentary colleague Jan Riedel, Minister of Education, and the CDU parliamentary group's education policy spokesman, Carsten Borchert. In addition to interested citizens, the participants primarily included school principals from Weißenfels, Hohenmölsen, Mücheln, and Lützen. The goal was an open exchange about the challenges of everyday school life – directly from practical experience. One point became particularly clear: many problems already begin with social prejudices. The head of the Ökowegschule in Weißenfels, Mr. Schupa, described how schools often suffer from entrenched perceptions. He spoke of “pigeonhole thinking” and of a “cherished habit of complaining” that in many places obscures the view of successes. As examples, he mentioned well-known labels within Weißenfels: the Beuditzschule, he said, struggles with the prejudice of the “evil T” – referring to the area around Hermannsgartenstraße and Walterstraße, which is often associated with a difficult social environment. The Neustadtschule is frequently perceived primarily through its high proportion of students with a migration background. And the Ökowegschule, he noted, is not rarely described as a place where “only Hartz IV kids” attend school. Yet, according to Schupa, what is often overlooked is the actual work being done at all schools. The Beuditzschule has developed its own profile with the “4+1” project, the Neustadtschule is currently receiving special support in the promotion of migrant students, and at the Ökowegschule around 450 pupils as well as about 250 animals live as part of the educational concept. The issue of cancelled lessons due to a shortage of specialist staff was answered cautiously from the political side. Various programs had now been created that allow schools to respond flexibly. The key factor, they said, was that institutions make use of the available leeway. A freely available personnel budget exists and is deliberately kept open. Schools can therefore decide for themselves how to respond to foreseeable bottlenecks – for example when teachers are absent due to operations or longer illnesses. Projects can compensate for gaps in lessons if there is sufficient creativity in planning. A particularly practical insight was provided by Jörg Riemer, head of the vocational schools. In his contribution he explained that over the past years he had conducted around 300 job interviews in order to stabilize the staffing of his school. He deliberately also relies on career changers and does not see this as a fundamental risk. He also did not view staff absences due to pregnancies as a problem. On the contrary: pregnancies among colleagues were not a cause for concern but a reason for joy – after all, the students of tomorrow have to come from somewhere. As the evening progressed, numerous other school leaders spoke up. Despite all the difficulties, there was agreement that other regions of Saxony-Anhalt face significantly greater problems in supplying schools with teachers. Criticism came from the Free School in Lützen. There, representatives complained that they regularly miss out on funding programs because student numbers are apparently considered too uncertain for larger investments. The ministry suggested looking more closely at funds from the structural transition programs – the chances of being considered there would be higher. A concrete problem was also described from Mücheln: a pilot project that has been running for four years, with proven success and at the same time relieving the education budget, is to be discontinued. The minister promised to look into the matter and search for possible ways of providing support. Pragmatic approaches were also discussed regarding school swimming lessons. Why distribute swimming instruction across an entire school year if block swimming courses in the Lützen summer pool would be possible? If schools and sponsors agreed, the ministry said there would be no objection from its perspective. In the end, one central message remained: the ministry cannot prescribe every solution. Instead, what is needed locally are ideas, the courage to implement them, and the willingness to use existing resources flexibly. Or put differently: the school of tomorrow does not begin only in the ministry – but above all where responsibility is taken every day. Author: AI-Translation - Karla Kolumna | |
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