School expenses; information about sponsors

School-related expenses include, amongst other things, expenditure on

• Provision, establishment, fitting out, management and maintenance of the school premises,
• Teaching materials and schoolbooks as so-called ‘teaching-material-free’ teaching materials,
• School events,
• Opportunities to help shape school life,
• The school’s operational needs,
• the necessary transport of pupils to and from lessons (and, in the case of primary, secondary and special schools, also the necessary transport to and from school) and
• Domestic staff.

In principle, the body responsible for funding schools is the relevant local authority, whether the school is state-run or municipal. Only in exceptional cases (e.g. state grammar schools with boarding facilities) does the state bear the cost of running the school itself.

In certain areas – such as building works, the costs of providing free learning materials and school transport – the state provides grants to the local authorities responsible for school expenditure.

In the case of private schools, a distinction is made between those operating as supplementary schools and those operating as alternative schools. Only alternative schools are eligible for state funding. State funding is provided in various forms depending on the type of school, and in some cases a distinction is made between state-authorised and state-recognised schools. Components of funding for school-related expenditure include, for example, grants for building works, in some cases reimbursement of school fees, and other benefits such as contributions towards the costs of free learning materials, where such provision is granted. The funding of school expenditure in the private school sector is mostly based on flat-rate allocations.

Furthermore, private schools may be funded through the collection of school fees (within the limits permitted by the Constitution) and through contributions from third parties (e.g. donations, local authority grants).