Tuition Relief Is Main Agenda

Trenton—The OU’s “NJ Votes” initiative hosted its first annual Meet and Greet recently for 40 New Jersey state legislators and Orthodox community leaders representing 30 Yeshiva day schools.  The legislators listened to Orthodox concerns about tuition affordability and the need for some form of tuition relief for their community.

Sammy Saka Chairman of the OU’s Garden State effort emceed the event. “We aren’t asking the state to pay for religious instruction,” he said. “Instead, we need to discuss how the State can pay for secular education to help alleviate this burden for New Jersey’s hardworking families.”

Later that same week, 20 Bergen County yeshiva administrators and leaders met with Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan at the Moriah School in Englewood. On the agenda were issues concerning security, use of County parks and recreational activities, free presentations on New Jersey history, and Special Education opportunities. Ms. Donovan emphasized that the County “has the ability to help you and your kids” and encouraged quarterly meetings between schools and the County for increased dialogue and cooperation.

Schools represented at the meeting were The Moriah School, The Frisch School, Yavneh Academy, Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, Yeshivat Noam, Yeshivat He’Atid, Ben Porat Yosef, Torah Academy of Bergen County, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls and Solomon Schechter of Bergen County.