On Monday, May 1, the New Rochelle community gathered for an eye-opening conversation on groundbreaking new initiatives for yeshiva day school funding. “Jewish Education: Safer, Stronger and More Affordable” was hosted by Dana and Tzvi Simpson. Teach NYS believes all children deserve access to secure, quality general education funded by the state. State funding will help alleviate out-of-pocket costs of parents facing the burden of paying both taxes and tuition. Mobilizing a network of hundreds of schools, with students, parents and community members, voting for and engaging with elected officials in Albany, enables Teach NYS to fight for fair government funding for yeshiva day schools.
Government funding for non-public schools’ general studies, security, special services, classroom technology, kosher meals, UPK programs and other vital services have been successfully championed by Teach NYS.
Teach NYS’ Westchester, Riverdale and Manhattan regional field director, Davida Fried, explained, “The mission of this organization spoke to me on a personal level. As an adult, I could effect change towards our schools.” Fried continued, “After working as a school administrator, I developed a new-found appreciation for the organization. They’re committed to helping both parents with tuition and schools with their budgeting. As a director, I found an impossible conundrum. We’re committed to not raising tuition to keep tuition affordable. We also want to hire the very best teachers but cannot afford exorbitant salaries. Applying for security funds, Teach helped our small pre-school secure $80,000 in grants, not taxing parents for state-of-the-art security.”
Fried described Teach Coalition’s genesis. There were grassroots efforts advocating with legislators for the entire non-public school sector. However, there wasn’t unity. This coalition brought together various efforts under one umbrella, with 100 member-schools’ support. “We’re proud of how many schools are represented, from non-denominational and left-leaning to schools leaning right, a proud coalition representing diverse hashkafas.” Before Teach, “there was no secular education funding for non-public schools. In under 10 years, Teach has changed our STEM funding from zero in 2017 to $58 million last year and $73 million in the newly released state budget.”
Dan Mitzner, Teach Coalition COO and director of government affairs, explained, “The overarching idea is that non-public schools serve a vital service for the state. We are all taxpayers and support and believe in strong public and non-public schools. We don’t want money being diverted from public schools to us. We are taxpaying members of society. We also remove a massive burden from the state by educating our own children.” Mitzner continued, “It costs about $25,000 per student to educate public school students. Not only is the state saving $25,000 per student, but they’re also collecting our tax dollars. There should be some level of support to ensure that our non-public schools can also compete and offer quality education, because we’re going to be contributing to a 21st-century society where STEM jobs are more important and essential. It’s in the state’s best interest, from an economic perspective. It’s the right thing to do.”
Mitzner explained that “Teach brings legislators to schools to see the STEM labs, amazing teachers and outcomes from pennies on the public-school dollar.” Mitzner acknowledged not seeing decreased tuitions yet. “The organization’s main purpose is to solve the tuition crisis. Now, money flows to schools, not parents. Schools would’ve increased tuition more if not for this funding slowing tuition increases. We’re proud some tuition letters specifically thanked Teach NYS’ effort.”
Teach currently operates in five states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Maryland. Mitzner revealed that if one would have asked him, pre-pandemic, if Teach NYS could propose tax-credit scholarship programs like Pennsylvania and Florida, “I’d say absolutely not. You’re crazy,” Noting impossible political landscapes, “We changed the culture and political climate in Albany. There’s openness to supporting our schools. It’s no longer this foreign concept making state funds available to non-public schools. After the pandemic, we changed our approach to tax-credit scholarships.”
Mitzner delineated, “The Supreme Court made it much easier, protecting religious institutions receiving state funds. It’s harder for states to discriminate against religious institutions. Secondly, non-public schools fared extremely well during the pandemic, compared to public schools. The Teach Coalition served on school-reopening committees in every state we operate in. Third, we’re seeing amazing examples of fully funded scholarship programs like in Florida. We believe there’s a clear path forward to tax-credit scholarships in New York and New Jersey. We’re going to push aggressively in the coming years. It’s not an easy road ahead, but one worth traveling.”
Mitzner mentioned 28 states have tax-credit scholarships, and five are likely to pass this legislative session. “The tide is turning. It’s our job to ride that wave and get it done in New York.” Mitzner highlighted, “With 450,000 students in non-public schools, our schools deserve a loud voice in Albany.”
By Judy Berger
