For a fair payment of the teachers of the European Schools

Dear Mr. Kivinen,

On behalf of the parents of the European School I would like to express extreme dismay at the resignation of the director of Primary and Kindergarten, Mr. Hurley, and urge you to find a solution to the contractual disagreement that has led to this. Since he started at the school eighteen months ago, Mr. Hurley has made an enormous positive difference to the school and the wellbeing and education of all the students, both in the primary and the secondary. The programmes he has put in place have brought about a better learning environment in the primary and we feel certain that better learning outcomes will follow. Losing him will be hugely detrimental to the school.

We are further concerned that if the terms and conditions for the post of director of Primary and Kindergarten are not competitive in the job market, the school will fail to attract suitably talented people to the position in the future, or that talented individuals such as Mr. Hurley will only stay a short time. Both of these situations will not only lower the learning outcomes of the students but also will end up costing the school more money in the longer term. We have started a petition to collect parents’ signatures and they have been included herewith. We therefore write to ask you to ensure that the terms and conditions offered for the post of Director of Primary and Kindergarten are good enough to attract and retain a high quality individual, and to make these available to Mr. Hurley. We hope very much for the sake of our childrens’ education and the future of the reputation and viability of the European School Karlsruhe that he will reconsider his decision.

Yours faithfully,

Debjani Basu, President Parents’ Association On behalf of the parents of European School of Karlsruhe