SPÖ NÖ Wants School Start Allowance Back

The SPÖ Lower Austria once again called for the reintroduction of the school start allowance in the state on Monday, ahead of the start of the 2025/26 school year. The start of school should not become a cost trap for families, argued state party chairman and state councilor Sven Hergovich.

School bags, books, pens, notebooks, public transport tickets, afternoon care, or tutoring would cost an average of 2,130 euros per child. This figure comes from the 2024 school cost study by the Chamber of Labor (AK), according to Hergovich. "That is an average of eight percent of household income." The decision of the black-blue state coalition to abolish the Lower Austrian school start allowance was "wrong."

In addition to the reintroduction of this support as an unbureaucratic, direct aid, the state SPÖ also advocates for the expansion of free afternoon care. Moreover, more teaching and support staff are necessary so that tutoring does not become necessary in the first place.

School Start Allowance Came in 2022

The blue-yellow school start allowance was introduced in the summer of 2022 due to inflation and was subsequently paid out for two years. Children and adolescents from Lower Austria who attend school or are in an apprenticeship received 100 euros each. In 2023/24, the support went to about 180,044 eligible recipients. Independently of this, the federal school start allowance is paid out with family assistance in August and amounts to 121.40 euros this year.

"Where is the blue-yellow school start allowance?" the SPÖ had already asked in the summer of 2024. The People's Party pointed out in a reply that it had been granted in the previous two years as a "temporary and extraordinary support."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.