03.07.2023 - The cities and municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia, as school authorities, are financed primarily through the pupil rate. FiFo Köln has now reviewed this long-criticized supplementary component of the municipal fiscal equalization system. It became clear that schoolchildren in open all-day care cost the municipalities at least as much as children in regular all-day schools, but have so far only been financed in the same way as half-day schoolchildren. The reform options outlined in FiFo Report 32 aim to end this significantly lower funding. In the key points for the Municipal Financing Act 2024, the North Rhine-Westphalian government announces that it intends to implement the most straightforward of these models directly, using long-day and short-day schooling as as core indicators.