Bang in Eiderstedt: School association chief Kummerscheidt steps back!

Bang in Eiderstedt: School association chief Kummerscheidt steps back!

A significant upheaval in the Eiderstedt school association: Andrea Kummerscheidt, the chairwoman of the association and mayor of Garding, has resigned with immediate effect. The decision was announced on July 22, 2025 and came unexpected for many. Kummerscheidt emphasizes that she has been faced with allegations of representatives of the municipal council from Sankt Peter-Ording for months and wishes that future consultations about the school landscape of Eiderstedt can take place in a harmonious climate. "The important work of the school association has come into the background," she said, which underlines allegations of lack of objectivity and fairness. [NDR] (https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schuleswig-holstein/schulverband chairman-von-eiderstedt-legt-amt-amtheidenews-394.html) reports that the parent representatives of the schools in Sankt Peter-Ording have expressed their disappointment on the development in the school association.

A look back shows that the member communities had already decided in February 2025 to dissolve the Eiderstedt school association at the end of the school year. The background of the decision is disagreements about the future of the community school in Sankt Peter-Ording. This dissolution should come to the enforcement on August 1, 2025, but the process is delayed on the basis of legal questions, as reported by the shz. It should be emphasized that the school association has represented a total of twelve municipalities and the city of Garding since its foundation in 2009.

The role of the school association

For the readers: Inside, who are less familiar with the concept: a school association, also known as a school purpose association, is a merger of several communities that enables them to act together as a school authority. The aim is to reduce the financial and administrative burdens for smaller communities, which is legally regulated in many federal states, including in Schleswig-Holstein. The dissolution of the association thus takes place in the context of a greater structural challenge that can be felt in the region.

Kummerscheidt's resignation also has direct consequences: The mayor of Sankt Peter-Ording, Boris Pfau, will take over the business of the school association in terms of interim. However, not much has moved in the past few months, the parents' representatives, who have not been able to find any significant progress since October 10, 2024 since October 10, 2024. In this tense situation, the dialogue in particular seems to be difficult. A fundamental structural and personnel reorganization of the association is required in order to be able to meet the challenges of the future sufficiently.

While Kummerscheidt is trying to end the consultations in the Eiderstedter school landscape, it remains to be seen how the situation will develop in the coming weeks and what measures are taken to improve the current situation.