05. December 2019

ARQIS has advised the International School of Düsseldorf e.V. (ISD) in the negotiations and the agreement with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), which demanded that the school repay subsidies. As part of an extraordinary general meeting, 98.23% of the members present voted in favor of the cornerstones of the agreement. “The result of the vote shows how closed the ISD stands behind the agreement reached. We now have a strong foundation on which students, parents, teachers and administrators can work together to shape the future of the school”, said Andreas Collor, chairman of ISD’s board of directors. The vote paves the signing of the agreement with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The agreement stipulates that the ISD will reimburse excessively received funding for the years 2015 to 2018 to the state of NRW. Payment will be made from 2020 onwards and will be made over a period of ten years. The total sum of support to be recovered amounts to approximately EUR 11.7 million. In addition, the agreement provides that in the future ISD will waive its replacement school status and apply for operating licenses for two international supplementary schools (primary and lower secondary education). In the course of the change in status, the subsidies granted by the state of NRW will gradually decrease until the two alternative schools are finally dissolved after the end of the school year 2022/23 (primary school) or 2024/25 (secondary school I).

“The agreement reached reflects the changed conditions and gives the school a stable economic basis for the future”, commented Andreas Collor. “With this agreement we secure the sustainable future of our school for students, parents, teachers and administrative staff.”

Advisors to International School of Düsseldorf e.V.
ARQIS Rechtsanwälte (Dusseldorf): Dr. Jörn-Christian Schulze (Lead), Nima Hanifi-Atashgah, Thomas Chwalek, Malte Griepenburg, Dr. Maximilian Backhaus (all Corporate/M&A), Dr. Mirjam Boche (Insurance law/D&O); Johannes Landry (Insolvency law); Dr. Andrea Panzer-Heemeier (Labour law); Associates: Dr. Hendrik von Mellenthin (Labour law), Carina Grahs (Legal Support Specialist)

Dr. Petermann Wolfering (Duesseldorf): Dr. Janbernd Wolfering (School law)