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First and foremost, I want to give a heartfelt yasher koach to everyone engaging in this important conversation. For the longest time, from browsing magazines and media, it seems that the most pressing issues facing Klal Yisroel are presented as the shidduch crisis, debates over which singer is the best, and then topics like kiruv or luxury vacations. However, when you examine the amount of attention given to the tuition crisis and the significant harm it causes to families, it’s minimal in comparison. So, I want to commend everyone here for keeping this critical discussion alive. Keep it up!
I’d like to propose a simple yet impactful solution to address many of these concerns. Every school’s executive board should include a dedicated board member who is elected by the parent body and financially supported by the parent body. This individual’s sole responsibility would be to advocate for the parents’ best interests and bring their concerns to the forefront. They should have set office hours during the week, allowing parents to reach out and discuss pressing matters directly.
This position should come with a defined term limit to ensure accountability and fresh perspectives. Importantly, the representative must be a current parent with a child enrolled in the school. If the executive board argues that a parent cannot be included in confidential meetings, I call baloney on that. After all, they already include accountants and lawyers from the community who aren’t board members. To address any concerns, a Rav could be consulted to vet candidates before elections.
This idea might sound like a pipe dream, but if parents unite and collectively demand this reasonable change, it could lead to significant, positive ramifications for our schools and families.
Here is a different way to solve this issue without having to convince so many people to send their children to PS. Today their are so many faculty members in the PS system that are orthodox, they give off Yom Tov as a holiday because so many teachers take vacation then. If the Rabbonim would ask all of these faculty members to give up their jobs, while at the same time convincing the Yeshiva’s to hire them or to convince the gevirim to sponsor them. I believe the PS system could not afford to lose so many people, especially with a shortage of good and qualified teachers. This would force their hand to give in.
Rav Belsky ZT”l told many of us that you can only make a Bracha ???? ?????? ????? on Rav Chaim and Rav Steinman today. I asked him regarding ??? ???? and after listing many names to him, the only one he considered was Reb Dovid. I think that would certainly be an indication of being the ‘Gadol of America’.