Governor David Paterson’s budget proposal, announced earlier this week, would cut tens of millions of dollars in state funds to yeshivas. These cuts will have a dramatic impact on every single yeshiva and may force yeshivas to raise tuition next year. While the Governor proposed a mere 3.3% cut for public school funding, he wants to cut funding to yeshivas by an astounding 41%. “In these harsh economic times our yeshivas can not afford these huge cuts and our parents simply can not pay higher tuitions,” said David Greenfield, director and counsel of TEACH NYS. “We need every single yeshiva parent to call the Governor today and ask that he stop the tens of millions of dollars in cuts to yeshivas.” The toll-free TEACH NYS hotline that will transfer your call directly to the Governor’s office in Albany is: (888) 720 1961. Please call now and ask the Governor to “Please stop the CAP funding cuts to private schools.”
The Governor’s budget proposal seeks to eliminate the Comprehensive Attendance Program (CAP) for private schools, cutting almost $55 million in funding from last year’s budget. CAP is a state mandated program for all schools. It is a security measure that requires that schools take attendance at the start of every period to ensure that students are attending their classes and not leaving the school during class time.
Including CAP, the Mandated Services Reimbursement program for non-public schools totaled almost $135 million last year. The proposed budget cut would reduce funding for non-public schools to $80 million. That is a 41% permanent cut in funding to private schools.
In response, TEACH NYS has set up a toll-free hotline that will transfer your call directly to the Governor’s office in Albany. That toll free number is (888) 720 1961. Please call now and ask the Governor to “Please stop the CAP funding cuts to private schools.” TEACH NYS expects thousands of people to call, so if you reach a voicemail message, please do not hang up! Stay on the line and leave a message after the tone. It’s very important, because the Governor’s office tracks exactly how many people call on each issue and every single call makes a difference.
TEACH NYS is the only organization exclusively dedicated to solving the tuition crisis and works each and every day on behalf of the 500,000 private school students in New York State.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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14 Responses
While calling about this, I also added a protest against a deceitful tax on select soft drinks. If soft drinks are going to be taxed, then diet sodas should be included — they are horrifically unhealthy – just google ‘diet soda health’ to see — and the tax proposal as it is will incentify people to drink more of them – to everyone’s detriment. A splenda moment is not a splendid one.
#1, I would like to add that the sweeteners in diet soda are considered by many experts to be more harmful to a diet/health than sugar or corn syrup.
When the money does coming the Yeshivas don’t pass it down to the parents.
That’s why the people are not taking this personal, and will not call.
Yhat’s what you get when you support immoral and low-life people for high office. They may smile at you and pretend to be friends, but their true feelings come out eventually, and YOU WILL PAY THE PRICE.
Save on the soda tax – DRINK WATER!
It’s healthier and cheaper.
Every yeshiva should have a rule that they won’t give one penny scholarship to any family that both parents don’t vote regularly.
If you want your yeshiva to help you with tuition the very least you could do is vote, so that future events like this won’t happen as much.
Even if you do not know the issues or who to vote for GO VOTE – show up and demonstrate that you do vote.It’s not so much WHO you vote for that makes the difference but rather THAT FRUM JEWS VOTE!
The headline should be changed to: Prevent A Tuition Increase! Call your neighbors who don’t care to vote – Tell them their laziness causes Albany to cut Yeshivas!
Is he another David Dinkins?
Regardless of what the gov. does, there is a a real tuition crises and all of us have to be proactive in helping our mosdos and making sure that our choshuve rabbeim and moros are treated they way that they should.
Also, I know first hand that the agudah with R’ Zwiebel and R’ Abba Cohen have been instrumental in secureing substantial funds for mosdos all across the US. I would advise calling them and asking them how we can all help.
I just called this number and they gave me 2 web sites that we can fill out any idea that we might have in regards to this
http://www.redusenyspending.gov
http://[email protected]
While calling the governor may help, please remember that this is a “budget proposal” (not a voted on budget that will take effect) which means that it now goes to both houses which means we should be calling Sheldon Silver, who as part of the “Gang of Three” actually discusses the budget with the governor and the Senate Majority Leader.
#8 it is well established that our community has stopped voting . You have read here and in many places of the need to register and vote. So far this call has been marginally answered.
The numbers show that Boro Park for example was second to last in voting numbers this past election.
The Askanim are working hard on our behalf , they have begged us to vote. Its the very least we must do to help fight for ourselves. Every other group has improved their voting turnout while we have not. This is a fact ask the experts.
The idea of #6 is a very interesting one forcing Parents to vote.
#3
A major problem we have is that many simply do not see how our tuition is helped by government assistance. It is a very narrow view and in order to see this funding you need to understand how it comes. Mandated services has been a creative way for our private schools to access public money.
Agudas Yisroel has mastered these issues and has educated EVERY Yeshivah , day school and Bais Yakkov in the state with great success in how to access.
Because of this funding the Yeshivos have tried to keep costs to parents down. You may not see it and thats where an intelligent person must do the due diligence. The sarcastic and lazy among us (you know who you are)will simply criticize and belly ache without facts. The smarter among us realize the albatross yeshivos are living with and appreciate whatever government funding does make its way into our pipeline.
We need to fight for those monies or tuition will in fact sky rocket even higher
I see, that when it comes to “GELT”, people are suddenly motivated to call the Governer but when it comes to his very strong stance on “Pro Toeava” agenda – it’s quiet! – NOTHING! – let’s not rock the boat, attitude! What a Shanda!
How much gov’t funding do the Yeshiva’s receive? How much will it go down if this passes? Does anyone have any idea? (Besides the Yeshivo’s)
I think that a lot of people feel that since the Yeshiva’s are receiving millions of dollars in Gov’t aid but are not being transparant about the amounts, that they maybe are putting away substantial amounts of savings in annuity accounts and whatever. If this is so, then there is a underlying level of non spoken trust as to a yeshivas’ real financial situation.
I’m not saying that it is a fact that Yeshiva’s have extra money all saved up in seperate accounts and are misleading people to believe that it is a big mitzvah to donate money to them and pay high tuition bills that really aren’t neccesary. I’m saying that with the fact that they receive millions in Gov’t aid and 99%+ people not knowing how much aid that really is, there is a lack of transparancy which leads to people thinking that they are being taken advantage by the Yeshiva administrations that will happily take all the money offered to them regardless how much they already have.
Bottom line: If in fact the Gov’t aid is insufficient to fund the Yeshiva’s as they claim, then the Yeshivos should prepare a simple accounting sheet that defines thier budget needs after all income to everyone. With more transparancy comes more trust and less cynicism like my own e-mail, I must admit.