Barbara Nowak headed the Małopolska Education Board from March 14, 2016 to December 15, 2023. As reported by TVP Info, the current Małopolska education superintendent, Gabriela Olszowska, during this period Nowak received a total of PLN 1,256,973.79 gross remuneration.
Jej zarobki zmieniały się w kolejnych latach. In 2016, the first year of work as a curator, they amounted to PLN 104.3 thousand. PLN gross. W 2017 roku było to już około 167 tys. zloty.
In the following years, the remuneration remained at a similar level, but increased again at the end of her term. W 2022 roku Nowak zarobiła 186,3 tys. zł brutto, a w 2023 roku - około 188 tys. zloty. After taking into account the award, her earnings for the last year of work exceeded PLN 200,000. zloty.
12 awards from the voivode
In addition to her salary, Barbara Nowak received awards from the Voivode of Lesser Poland. According to the information provided to TVP Info by Gabriela Olszowska, during her term of office, the former curator received a total of 12 awards worth PLN 64.4 thousand. zloty.
She was awarded the awards three times in 2016 and 2017, once in 2018, twice in 2019, once in 2020 and twice in 2022.
Nowak also used company cars. In the years 2016–2022 it was a Skoda Superb car, and in the years 2022–2023 it was a Mazda 6.
She did not disclose her asset declarations for eight years
The former curator's earnings also arouse interest in the context of her asset declarations. Barbara Nowak did not consent to their publication for years. She revealed her first declaration of assets only in 2024, as a councilor of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship assembly.
Pursuant to applicable regulations, asset declarations of persons performing certain public functions may be protected and are not automatically public. However, their disclosure may take place with the written consent of the person who submitted them, and in particularly justified cases also without such consent.
Despite appeals, including from politicians of the Civic Coalition, the then voivode of Lesser Poland, Łukasz Kmita from PiS, did not decide to disclose Nowak's documents.
The former probation officer herself argued that their publication could threaten her safety and the safety of her loved ones. As "Gazeta Wyborcza" reported, it pointed to previous attacks, harassment and stalking, as well as fears that the disclosure of documents could lead to a repetition of such actions.
Prokuratura badała sprawę mieszkania
After the change of power, the new management of the Małopolska school board notified law enforcement authorities about suspected irregularities related to the activities of Barbara Nowak.
One of the topics analyzed was the issue of the apartment that Nowak and her husband received from the city in exchange for leaving the premises occupied at the 12th Secondary School in Krakow. Among other things, the possibility of committing fraud and submitting false asset declarations was checked.
The doubts concerned the apartment in Nowa Huta, which the former curator's husband, Ryszard Nowak, inherited with his brother from his mother. His property declarations showed that no inheritance proceedings were carried out when he received the premises from the city. Despite the lack of a formal entry in the land and mortgage register, he was supposed to have the inherited apartment at his disposal and rent it to other people.
The prosecutor's office also looked at Barbara Nowak's travels in company cars, including trips with a driver without the voivode's delegation.
The then curator, Gabriela Olszowska, criticized such practices, comparing them to treating a company car like a taxi. However, investigators did not find any crime in this thread, and the case was discontinued twice.
Nieprawomocny wyrok za zniesławienie
In September 2026, Barbara Nowak was convicted of defaming Urszula Mroczek-Gula, the director of the Vocational School Complex No. 2 in Krakow. The judgment is invalid.
The case concerned the former curator's statement about the headmistress who, after the death of a student in the dormitory of the school she runs, appeared before the disciplinary commission for teachers. Investigators found no negligence on her part, and the charges brought in disciplinary proceedings were quashed by the appeals committee of the Ministry of National Education.
Barbara Nowak claimed that the director was not acquitted of the charges. Sąd uznał jej wypowiedź za zniesławiającą. As a result, the former curator must pay PLN 6,000. PLN fine and PLN 10,000 PLN compensation.
Kontrowersje wokół byłej kurator
Barbara Nowak has been a councilor of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship assembly on behalf of Law and Justice since 2024 and the head of the party in Krakow.
During her time as head of the school board, she repeatedly caused controversy with her public statements. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she referred to vaccines as an "experiment." In 2022, she opposed compulsory vaccinations, arguing that all the consequences of their use were not known.
She was also critical of organizing so-called Rainbow Fridays in schools. She supported the position of Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, who used the term "rainbow plague", and announced actions to ensure that religion classes would not be held during the first or last hour of classes.
Data disclosed by TVP Info show that during nearly eight years as Małopolska's education superintendent, Barbara Nowak, received over PLN 1.25 million in gross remuneration and PLN 64.4 thousand. PLN prizes.
