Outraged family

Municipality cancels four-year-old’s kindergarten place

The girl already goes to nursery here.(Bild: Franz Weber)

The municipality of Rechnitz has terminated a family's kindergarten place for their daughter - even though she was already attending the crèche there. There is great anger in the Burgenland municipality. The mother suspects a political background.

"My daughter's rights are being trampled on," rages Liliana Popan from Markt Neuhodis. She has every reason to be: After more than three years, her little daughter is no longer allowed to attend the childcare facility in Rechnitz. The kindergarten place has been terminated. The letter from the municipality states that it is obliged to "guarantee the care of the children registered in Rechnitz". Due to lack of space, it was no longer possible to care for the four-year-old.

Other children are also from neighboring communities
To put it simply: as the Popan family lives in Markt Neuhodis, they are not entitled to a place in Rechnitz. However, according to Popan, other children from Markt Neuhodis also attend the facility. But her daughter was the only one who was "kicked out".

Conversation escalated
The 37-year-old mother reports that a conversation was supposed to have taken place during an appointment at the kindergarten. However, things quickly got out of hand and while the other parents were picking up their children, there were loud arguments. "Everyone was watching." In the course of the argument, the mayor banned her from the building and she and her husband had to leave, says Popan. The police and state officials were also present.

Dispute over access
In front of the building, the head of the village then refused to allow her to take her daughter out of the group. Instead, he said that he would take the girl outside together with a police officer. "I told him: You're not going to attack my child," the mother says. In the end, she was allowed to get her herself. The four-year-old is now at home and does not want to go to any other kindergarten as she has her social contacts in Rechnitz. The mother is horrified: "She gets up crying every morning."

Candidacy as the reason?
Popan suspects a political background to the expulsion. She had stood as a candidate for the Hausverstand list in the regional elections. The letter from the municipality arrived a week after the election posters were put up. She accuses the head of the village of arbitrariness: "If he has something against me, then he should shoot at me, but leave my children alone."

Space is needed for another child
The mayor rejects the accusations. He only found out about her candidacy two days before the election. The four-year-old had to leave the kindergarten because the space was simply needed for a child from Rechnitz. The Popan family must have been aware that the admission of their daughter was only an exception because there was enough space at the time. Now this space is needed and due to the tight financial situation, it is not possible to open another group. "That hurts me too," says the head of the village.

Only registered for appearances?
The other children who are not from Rechnitz at least have a connection to the town - through their grandparents, for example. Popan's daughter, on the other hand, was only briefly registered in Rechnitz years ago - apparently in order to get the kindergarten place, the mayor suspects. The municipality had only taken over the kindergarten the previous year.

House ban issued
In any case, there was no question of the family being kicked out, as they had received the letter in good time. The head of the municipality confirms that the meeting was very emotional. He was verbally abused. The Popans had refused to leave the building and had deliberately planned the meeting. However, he did not forbid the mother from taking her child: "That's not true."

Legal dispute looms
She also had the option of taking her daughter to the Markt Neuhodis kindergarten. However, Liliana Popan does not intend to do this. Instead, she now wants to take legal action.