Last week, the Orthodox Jewish day schools in Houston were notified by the Department of External Funding of the Houston Independent School District of a significant funding allocation to their schools.  This year’s private school allocations resulted in $610,000 being directed towards a number of private educational institutions.  The Houston Orthodox Jewish day schools were recipients of $70,000 of these funds.  Rabbi Asher Block, Agudath Israel’s Texas Regional Director, commented, “I am delighted that our local schools will finally be receiving equitable funding for critical programs in which many thousands of non-public school children already participate across the country.”

These monies were directed to the day schools as a result of extensive collaboration between community groups and the Houston school board.  Rabbi Block, together with leaders in the Houston-Galvaston Catholic Archdiocese and other faith-based groups in Houston, worked diligently with school board officials on this issue over the last several months.  Their dedication and hard work resulted in the successful expansion of federal funding for the private schools they represent.  Allocated as per the guidelines in the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the funds can be used to purchase educational supplies and textbooks or to cover staffing expenses for remedial math and reading programs in the private schools.  These services are slated for implementation in the beginning of October. 

“This significant development is the culmination of many long hours of hard work and resolve on the part of Rabbi Block and Agudath Israel toward ensuring that the children in our community receive the services they rightly deserve,” noted Dr. Zev Munk, Advisory Board Chairman of Agudath Israel of Texas.   

Rabbi Yehiel Kalish, National Director of Government Affairs for Agudath Israel stated, “This allocation provides vital funding for our schools and demonstrates how important entitlement funds are to the educational success of our children.  We look forward to the day when funding comes to our families in the form of school vouchers –giving parents a real choice when it comes to the education of their children.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)