Retznei primary school seeks federal support after closure threat

Retznei Primary School in the Leibnitz district is seeking federal support after coming close to closure earlier this year, ORF reports. Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr of the NEOS party visited the school.

The Styrian Education Directorate halted the closure in the summer because required documents were missing. Retznei is one of three primary schools in the municipality of Ehrenhausen. The smallest, in Ratsch, has fewer than 20 pupils.

Wiederkehr said decisions about which schools operate or merge are made locally and regionally, not by him as education minister. He said federal law allows schools to be grouped into clusters and run under a shared leadership to help prevent closures.

The federal government is working to improve and make that framework more attractive, he said. The changes are part of a reform agreement currently being negotiated by the federal government, the states and municipalities.