A kindergarten in Brisbane, Australia, sparked outrage after telling parents they’d need to pay thousands of dollars to take home their children’s end-of-year artwork.
Families at Craigslea Community Kindergarten were emailed a surprise bill for AU$2,200 (around $1,400 USD) if they wanted access to their kids’ learning portfolios.
These portfolios, filled with finger paintings and felt-tip drawings, were being held as a way to raise money and cover more than AU$40,000 ($26,000 USD) in unpaid taxes, wages, and debts, according to Australia’s A Current Affair programme.
Parents who refused to pay the fee and attempted to retrieve their kids’ art were accused of theft by the kindergarten.
Authorities get involved to return children’s art
In the network’s September 23 report on the story, one parent interviewed said, “We have been advised by the regulatory authority that those portfolios do belong to us. We’ve also had police down at the kindergarten to try and help us peacefully obtain the portfolios, but there’s been no luck to date.”
In footage recorded by one parent inside the school, a member of staff could be heard saying that the children’s art was “the IP [intellectual property] of the teachers.”
The Queensland Department of Education confirmed in a September 24 statement to the BBC that they had “launched a successful recovery operation” and that the “important records are now available for families to collect.”
Craigslea’s management later tried to walk back the move, saying the AU$2,200 fee was just a suggested “donation.”
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