What remains, therefore, is an approach that involves significant cost-cutting. The problem with this approach lies in ensuring that we do not cross a qualitative line in the core education being offered.
It is in this spirit that a group of concerned, intelligent and passionate parents in Bergen County, New Jersey, in consultation with the Department of Day School and Educational Services of the OU, recently proposed to their community a plan for developing a yeshiva day school model, based upon standards of excellence in the core education as a guidepost, with an affordable tuition of approximately $6,500 per year.
The proposal calls for a budget that includes:
● Long-term rental of a facility with spacious classrooms and common areas, but not a large “campus” site.
● Classes of 23–25 students each.
● Teacher aides for pre-school grades from an internship program with schools such as Teachers College of Columbia University.
● No full-time aides for classes past pre-school.
● Average teacher salaries at or slightly higher than current day school rates.
● A lean administrative structure (one principal, and some “master teachers” with administrative responsibilities).
● Administrator’s salary at somewhat less than the high current “market” rate among yeshivot.
● A “Co-op Program” wherein parents are required to volunteer one hour of service per week to the school.
The proposal does not include a program for special-needs education, an after-school/extra-curricular program, extensive cutting edge technology, or costly participation in league sports.
This budgetary model is one that already works. The Ben Gamla Charter School in Hollywood, Florida educates its students for less than the $6,500 per student budgeted here. (Ben Gamla, as a charter school, does not have a Limudei Kodesh program; however, its classes do include some subjects that regular yeshiva day schools include in their Limudei Kodesh programs, such as Ivrit, Historiah, and Machshevet Yisrael.)
Some veteran educators and lay leaders have reviewed the proposed budget outlines and confirmed that it is a viable plan.
It should be clear that this plan does not call for an educational program identical to those of current day schools at a lower cost; rather, it calls for a model of cost-cutting that the planners feel does not cross a qualitative line in the core education being offered, and does afford Jewish education to a much larger group than the current model alone allows.
In the end, the Bergen County group may decide to fine-tune its plans by starting with a slightly higher tuition in order to increase programs; it is a delicate balancing act between economic affordability and programmatic desirability, to be determined by the community’s own sensitivities and careful judgment.
It is very important to note that this proposal is not meant to replace the current model – it is meant to complement it. Let me be very clear: I do not believe there is any wasteful spending in the current system. The current system is a premium standard of multi-faceted education in almost every way, and its schools must continue to flourish.
The proposed model is designed to enable choices for parents, allowing for different levels of affordability. In fact, one of the effects of establishing schools based upon the proposed model, alongside the current schools, would be a reduction of tuition in the current schools, since their tuition also goes toward assisting with scholarships.
I think it is important to point out that this is not a perfect solution. There are four critical issues that need to be addressed:
(1) This proposal will likely result in a perceived “caste system” – the haves and the have-nots. (2) The model does not take into account tuition assistance for those who will need it even at the $6,500 level. (3) The proposal does not address special-needs education. (4) The complementary and cooperative relationship between this school and the existing schools must be carefully planned and encouraged.
The “caste system” can be addressed, if not eliminated, by having inter-school programs, specific middot education, and involvement of community rabbanim in the form of speeches, shiurim, etc. Tuition assistance can be addressed by fundraising; since the total cost of education in this model is covered by tuition, any monies raised can be allocated directly to scholarships.