Tyrol municipalities threaten legal action over school assistant costs

Tyrol municipalities are warning that the cost of school assistants has surged, with spending in ten municipalities rising from 6.4 million euros in 2021 to 17.1 million euros in 2025, ORF reports. The Tyrol Association of Cities is calling for the federal government to transfer responsibility for the staff to the state education directorates and provide a clear funding arrangement.

School assistants enable children with special support needs to take part in everyday school life. Municipalities currently cover a substantial share of the personnel costs, but the financial burden is becoming increasingly difficult to manage, the association said.

The figures from Telfs, Axams, Imst, Innsbruck, Kufstein, Landeck, Reutte, Rum, Schwaz and Jenbach represent a 167 percent increase over four years. Costs in individual municipalities have also multiplied. Telfs has recorded an increase of more than 1,600 percent since 2018, while spending in Kufstein, Schwaz and Landeck has risen by several hundred percent since 2016. Innsbruck expects costs of more than 12 million euros per school year in 2026.

Under the Reform Partnership 2026, an agreement reached in July assigned responsibility for support staff to the states’ education directorates. The arrangement also covers school assistants and leisure-time educators. However, the Tyrol Association of Cities said there was still no concrete plan for implementation or financing.

Johannes Anzengruber, mayor of Innsbruck and chairman of the association’s Tyrol branch, said municipalities were responsible for school infrastructure as school operators, but not for financing support staff. He called for a swift solution from the federal government.

Christian Härting, mayor of Telfs and deputy chairman of the Tyrol Association of Cities, also called for urgent action. “This year in Telfs, we again have 200 additional weekly hours for school assistance, and the costs continue to rise,” he said, adding that a solution was needed “better today than tomorrow.”

Anzengruber is calling for a quick agreement between the responsible federal ministries. If no viable funding arrangement is reached, the association said it would consider seeking a review of the law by Austria’s Constitutional Court.