The discussion about collecting money for the New Year’s holiday in a kindergarten in Chisinau reached the police, the prosecutor’s office, the Ministry of Education and the Ombudsman. One of the mothers claims that she was subjected to pressure, but authorities consider the situation to be an “interpersonal conflict.” NM tells how a parent meeting turned into mutual complaints and proceedings in several instances.
New Year’s scandal
The conflict in kindergarten No. 186 in the capital’s Buiucani sector broke out at a parent meeting at the end of October 2025. They discussed the organization of the New Year’s party and payment for filming the matinee. At the center of the dispute was Eugenia Bordeianu, a representative of the public association “Solidarity Parents” and a member of the ethics council at the Ministry of Education. In a conversation with NM, she said that she had already encountered problems in this kindergarten when her eldest child attended it.
“Ever since 2022, when my eldest child started going to this kindergarten, the issue of raising money has been raised, either for windows or something else. Then I, along with several other mothers, opposed it. We filed several complaints, after which the money was allocated from the budget, and they were no longer required from the parents. I was removed from all groups, called “an enemy of the people,” and a separate meeting was held to say that they would not greet me. Then I contacted the Ombudsman, and the case was transferred to the Buyucan police. The parents were called to the department, but in the end everything was hushed up: the police said that the charges were not confirmed, although I and two other mothers confirmed this. They continued collecting money anyway, just without me. They fenced me off from this, but, according to my feelings, there was no pressure put on the child,” she admitted.
Now Eugenia Bordeianu’s second child, who has musculoskeletal disorders, is studying in this kindergarten. According to her, when applying for enrollment, the management of the institution initially refused to accept the child. She recorded this conversation and sent it to the education department, after which she was informed that the child would be accepted. At the same time, as Bordeianu noted, the response “didn’t even indicate that the manager acted incorrectly.”
The parent meeting at which the conflict broke out took place on October 21. The main subject of dispute was Santa Claus and the filming of the New Year’s party. In 2024, the capital’s Department of Education, Youth and Sports issued an order prohibiting the collection of money for organizing winter holidays in public kindergartens. However, since the order was valid for 2024, parents were not sure whether such a ban would continue to apply. Therefore, the issue was brought up for general discussion to understand how many parents are willing to agree to these expenses, explaining this by the desire to preserve memories for their children. According to Eugenia Bordeianu, one of the mothers, who works as a teacher at a nearby lyceum, asked her to sign a receipt stating that she would not contact the department and make the collection of money public.
“At the end of the meeting, one of the mothers suggested discussing our wishes. She said that “New Year is coming soon, we want a holiday, and I know that there is a mother here who is against everything.” And the women looked at me unkindly. I started recording the conversation because I had experienced intimidation in this institution before. There are management and ministry orders that prohibit any gatherings. (…) And they began to say that only in this garden do they follow the rules and only because of me do they not follow them. That is, before, when my eldest child came here, they followed the rules not because they had to, but because I was there. And all this happened in front of the teachers, but they didn’t say a word. They didn’t remind us to follow the order,” she said.
Later, as Eugenia Bordeianu said, one of the mothers, who works as a teacher at a nearby lyceum, but does not teach her child, announced her personal information. “The same mother, a teacher, started telling me my personal information. She told everyone that she knew everything about us, where we lived and how. We enrolled the child according to my husband’s registration. And she publicly stated that I had temporary registration and that I was doing the wrong thing. She voiced so much information that should not be disclosed at all. I offered to end the conversation, but they refused. There were no direct insults, but they spoke in a raised voice,” she said. According to the case file, during the discussion there were also statements that her child had taken the place of another.
After the meeting, Bordeianu filed complaints with several authorities – the police, the education department and the ethics commission of the kindergarten. At the same time, as follows from the case materials provided by Evgenia NM, the other party also filed counter-complaints.
What parents say
After filing a statement with the police, other parents of the group and kindergarten employees sent a collective complaint about the “behavior” of Evgenia Bordeyan, accusing her of secretly recording teachers without their consent and filing unfounded complaints. They also said that as a result of one of her complaints, an order was issued prohibiting the collection of money for the organization of filming at the group level, which caused dissatisfaction among parents because, in their opinion, the children were left without important memories.
“During the parent meeting, several parents wanted to understand why Eugenia Bordeianu is against organizing photo and video shooting for children. The discussion took place calmly and correctly, which is confirmed, among other things, by an audio recording made by Mrs. Bordeianu herself. Despite this, she filed complaints against parents and teachers, alleging that she was subjected to insults and verbal aggression,” the complaint says.
Parents and teachers asked for a review of Eugenia Bordeianu’s “repetitive and abusive behavior”, pointing to hidden recording, complaints and destabilization of the institution, and called for a safe and respectful environment for all participants in the educational process.
A separate complaint was filed by the child’s mother, who works as a teacher at a nearby lyceum. She demanded that Eugenia Bordeiana be brought to administrative responsibility, calling the charges brought against her “unfounded from a factual, evidentiary and legal point of view,” and said that they damaged her reputation.
“Inaccurate and defamatory information was spread about me, which is false, malicious in nature and aimed at belittling my honor and dignity, causing me significant moral damage. As a result of these defamatory statements, I was subjected to public humiliation, discredit and emotional distress. These actions negatively impacted my reputation in my family, social environment and at work. I believe that I have been and continue to be subjected to defamation by Eugenia Bordeianu,” the complaint says.
After considering the appeal, the Buyukan Police Inspectorate decided to stop further consideration of the case without establishing any signs of an offense.
How did the authorities react?
After the meeting, Eugenia Bordeianu sent complaints to the police, the education department, the kindergarten ethics council and other authorities. The kindergarten was one of the first to consider the appeal: 18 parents provided written explanations, and another six were interviewed orally. The ethics board concluded that the situation constituted a “misunderstanding between parents” and did not indicate any signs of bullying or misconduct on the part of staff.
Bordeianu contacted the police several times – first on her own, then through a member of parliament. The Buyucan Police Inspectorate stated that they found no signs of illegal actions and discontinued the investigation. Disagreeing with this, she complained about the actions of the police officer, pointing out the bias of the inspection. The inspection department reported that disciplinary violations were identified in the employee’s actions, but he had already resigned, after which the materials were transferred to another employee. The complaint was later registered again, and in March the police said they were continuing to investigate.
At the same time, Bordeianu contacted the prosecutor’s office, where, after studying the case materials and the testimonies of the participants, they refused to initiate a criminal case. According to the prosecutor’s office, the discussion took place in a calm atmosphere, the applicant was not insulted or directly threatened, and the opinions expressed by the parents were in the nature of subjective assessments or disagreement with the applicant’s position regarding the organization of extracurricular activities. The decision states that we are talking about an interpersonal conflict without signs of a criminal offense.
The National Anti-Corruption Center said that the situation was not within their competence, and the Ombudsman’s Office also said that they could not intervene in this case. The presidential administration forwarded the complaint to the police.
The capital’s education department confirmed that collecting money in government institutions is prohibited, but noted that in this case we are talking about disagreements between parents. The department also said that it had invited the acting director of the kindergarten and requested additional materials from her. The Ministry of Education recommended that questions regarding the behavior of a lyceum employee be addressed directly to this educational institution, and regarding possible pressure, contact the internal affairs bodies.
“When I again turned to the ethical commission of the kindergarten, I had already provided an audio recording where everything was heard, and asked that the case be considered objectively. They refused me, saying that the situation had already been analyzed, although according to the administrative code, if new evidence appears, the case can be reconsidered. I again contacted the ethics council of the education department and am waiting for a response from the committee at the ministry. Everything is moving very slowly,” Bordeianu added.
NM contacted the acting director of the kindergarten. She said that she sent all the requested documents to the capital’s education department and suggested contacting him. The department asked to send a written request and did not respond at the time of publication of the material.
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