Three Styrian schools close as new school year begins

Three schools in Styria will remain permanently closed when the new school year begins in three weeks, ORF reported on Tuesday. The closures affect Mittelschule Weiz 1, a lower secondary school, and primary schools in Modriach and Bärnbach-Afling.

The closures were requested by the respective municipalities to ensure the cost-efficient use of education resources. They were approved without opposition.

At the same time, two new school clusters are being established in Leoben and Knittelfeld. Primary schools Leoben Fröbel 1 and 2 will join the compulsory school cluster Leoben-Fröbelgasse.

In Knittelfeld, the new compulsory school cluster Knittelfeld-Lindenallee will bring together primary school Knittelfeld-Lindenallee and Knittelfeld special school.

The creation of school clusters is intended to make better use of existing resources. Teachers can be deployed flexibly across several locations, while central cluster management is expected to reduce administrative work. The clusters will no longer have individual school directors. Instead, they will be managed by area leaders.

With the two new clusters, Styria will have 26 school clusters.