Educator fights back

Toilet ban and headbutts: Principal suspended

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(Bild: Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz (ÖRK)/LV Tirol/Janick Entremont)

The Directorate of Education listed 18 accusations against the former headmistress of a Salzburg elementary school. The woman has since been suspended. However, she told the "Krone" newspaper: "I did nothing wrong". 

She is said to have forbidden pupils to go to the toilet - one child is even said to have wet himself as a result. She is said to have left pupils unattended for short periods of time and handed out headbutts and slaps on the back of the neck. She is also said to have sent pupils outside at break time when it was minus eight degrees and not helped them up after they fell.

And she is alleged to have made derogatory remarks about kindergarten teachers: The Directorate of Education made a total of 18 allegations of serious breaches of official duty against the principal of a Salzburg elementary school. This led to the teacher's provisional suspension in May 2023.

Ex-principal took legal action against suspension
In an interview with Krone, however, the woman emphasized: "I didn't make any mistakes. And I didn't bow to the education directorate because I didn't do anything wrong." She lodged an appeal against the suspension with the provincial administrative court. "Many points were completely incorrect or formulated too vaguely to justify a breach of duty," she argued. However, the court dismissed the concerns in advance and the suspension was confirmed in October as part of disciplinary proceedings.

My arguments were not even considered. The Education Directorate itself was unable to specify the allegations precisely.

Die betroffene Ex-Direktorin zur „Krone“

However, the court decision also stated: "As the allegations are suspicions, it was not necessary to examine them for their truthfulness, but merely to determine whether they were actual suspicions or mere rumors." The victim criticized this: "Parents and children did not have to testify at all." Nevertheless, the court found "inappropriate parenting methods" and violations of the ban on corporal punishment on the basis of the allegations. The suspension was "rightly imposed".

The Directorate of Education did not want to comment on the case: "for data protection reasons". And the teacher is now facing the loss of her headmaster title and a transfer.