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Wednesday, 26 Adar I, 5784
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Will Selling Raffles Help the Crisis

From the COLlive Inbox: I am a parent of a large family in Crown Heights, and I want to share my perspective on the new initiative Bais Rivkah has devised to help alleviate the burden of the tuition crisis. Full Story

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Here We Go Again....
November 27, 2017 7:05 am

One small, well-written article from an innocent parent spews such arrogance, ignorance and short-minded comments.
Here we go again, (guess things have been too quite at BR in CH).
Please do not blame the BR Board. They are really trying hard to turn thing around!

To 30
November 24, 2017 10:34 am

Shluchim dont pay for their fancy shuls. Their local donors do. So no, they have no right to take their local donors money and send it to crown heights.

#33
November 24, 2017 9:37 am

Williamsburg is far, far more wealthy than CH at the top end. Our givirim are pikers in comparison.

No way a board of any serious community institution looks like the board here.

The problem is gelt, nobody has any of it. The solution is tefillah.

Very well written, thank you,
November 24, 2017 4:51 am

Schoyach!

The board
November 23, 2017 11:02 pm

The Board does not OWN the school; the board is responsible for oversight, to make sure that it is administered properly. All the members of the board are volunteers who give countless hours of their personal, family and business time in order to use their skills and experience to help find solutions for the myriad challenges that running such a huge school entails. They are truly unsung heroes working lesheim shomaim with no ulterior motives or personal benefits besides the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping the Rebbe’s Moisad to be stronger every day. If you want to help,… Read more »

Seems like....
November 23, 2017 10:48 pm

everyone, besides the author of the article, knows what everyone ELSE should do.

The community council needs to tax the rich!
November 23, 2017 10:10 pm

We have BH so many wealthy individuals in our community. There is no reason to have so much money. The community council should tax them and give the money to our schools.
Problem solved.

yup#34 is right
November 23, 2017 5:59 pm

use your ma’aser money , tax excemption , l think my in laws did that, but it was hard

Tuition tax credits
November 23, 2017 4:30 pm

With all of the Jewish schools in New York, why aren’t there tuition tax credits and more assistance? The government can help with paying secular education, utility bills, office help, janitorial staff, etc. Jewish organizations need to lobby the state and federal governments to do more. This is not considered an issue of separation of religion and state.

Williamsburg
November 23, 2017 2:26 pm

We have to learn from Williamsburg. Large poor families pay 3000 max regardless of how many children they have in school and gevirim cover what is needed

Berel
November 23, 2017 12:35 pm

these op-eds are public service.

the more of these that get posted the closer we get to the solution

so many op-eds, so many well thought out comments yet the solution eludes us

we are getting closer

is it the shluchim or the pesach vacations or the administrators and their minions I feel we are are getting closer

we dig and dig but sotmum plishtim but closer, closer we are getting

I’ll keep reading these comments, I don’t know what to expect but I will know it’s it when I see it

rechoivois

Entitlement
November 23, 2017 12:34 pm

The sense of entitlement in the above comments are appalling.

Shluchim...
November 23, 2017 12:31 pm

If Shluchim are using the $$ properly for their Avodas Hakodesh then ok. Although it’s not like all these Shluchim are lacking rich supporters from their own communities.

But I see these fancy extravagant Chabad houses, and I wonder. If even half that money went to our own schools, imagine what Shefa we’d see.

And yes, the Rebbe wrote a letter about “multimillion dollars synagogues” and he said that the priority for us, when given the choice, is not to beautify a Shul, but to support Yiddishe education.

Ex-parent
November 23, 2017 11:05 am

CUT THE FAT. Beis Rivkah is way overstaffed… some people need to work a bit longer & a bit harder, or get off the gravy train. It will take years to crawl out of the red that must be colossal, thanks to the “perks” some of the administrative staff were getting. I am so glad all my kids are out of school, but their daughters aren’t. Tuition is killing them. Increasing tuition from a number that people aren’t able to pay now will have 2 outcomes: Couples will have fewer children & some will have no option but to send… Read more »

Grateful We left
November 23, 2017 10:42 am

Fundraise yes. Not from each other. We used to get jewelry on consignment, set up shop in hotels and sell to the public. Be innovative. Btw. Out of NY tuition is at least double if not more. Don’t give me the story about smaller families and higher wages. Not true. Just have to work harder. Double income families are the norm. These are our kids and tuition must be a priority.

Learn from oholei Torah
November 23, 2017 10:27 am

Why is it, that from all the schools in crown heights, only one is constantly struggling with financials and paying the teachers?
Let the board sit down with the administration of oholei Torah and learn from them how to do it?

To number 5
November 23, 2017 10:24 am

And if Shluchim kept all their business away from Crown Heights in sure you would be happy?
That includes Sta”m, Judaic items, graphic design, computer programming, life insurance, credit card processing, grocery items, the list goes on

Moshe
November 23, 2017 9:00 am

Dealing with the boys schools even though I used to get a break I was always happy when I had extra few dollars to give it to the school for some reason with Bais Rivkah I always had this angry and negative feeling towards that’s school why I don’t know. Like having a chronic pain. What are the other schools doing differently that don’t constantly have the same problems like Bais Rivkah has.

ch resident
November 23, 2017 8:57 am

#5 Tuition is not the only place where maaser goes to. I personally give my maaser to family members who cannot afford to live because of the astronomical rent prices. Charity starts at home.
#7 Please dont judge. I know a family who goes away for pesach and they dont pay a penny for it. Sometimes its not what you see and there is a much bigger picture.

nu nu
November 23, 2017 8:42 am

this is just a prelude for next years massive tuition increase.

the board is finding it easier to raise tuition and to take loans, versus actually raising money.

To #7 - Alternative more enforceable solution
November 23, 2017 8:27 am

There should be a communal cap on spending for Chasunos, Bar Mitzvah etc. Anyone is free to exceed the cap, but they have to match 50% of the excess towards a communal education fund.

So for example if the cap for a Chasuna is put at $30,000. And someone decides to spend $60,000 on the event. They would be required to pay $15,000 into the communal education fund, or else they won’t be allowed to use the local halls (which are owned by the schools).

Woke
November 23, 2017 6:35 am

Work 3 jobs

The Rebbe card
November 23, 2017 6:11 am

In the same amount of effort to write this article you could have posted just the last sentence “A proud Bais Rivkah parent” on your Facebook and sold a few tickets.

To #7
November 23, 2017 6:07 am

How about we first start with camp if you can pay for camp and pay for a bungalow match that with tuition

to #8
November 23, 2017 1:46 am

if you know of an effective fundraiser, willing to work at a fair salary/commission, please let the board know of them. they would be very grateful.

to #8
November 23, 2017 1:25 am

if you know of an effective fundraiser, willing to work at a fair salary/commission, please let the board know of them. they would be very grateful.

Mosdos giving tzedaka
November 23, 2017 12:45 am

When a teacher needs to go because they are not good at it but stays on for an unspecified reason is that also considered tzedaka?
Who pays that salary?
If the schools took education seriously I believe that parents will seriously pay for it.
Take a look at lamplighters…

Mosdos al
November 23, 2017 12:42 am

talking about tzedaka.

transparency
November 22, 2017 11:38 pm

i think as parents we should know how much money the board fundraised for the school from the day they started. so far my tuition went

Dear proud parent
November 22, 2017 11:05 pm

Placing the burden of the schools financial situation on the parent body is simply wrong. The school is there for the community and not the other way around. Then you ask how is the school supposed to survive? Well the same way the schools survived before anyone paid these exorbitant fees. The heads of these respected institutions cared and caring people don’t join boards for the honor but rather got there hands dirty working day and night to make sure the schools thrived. There were also no fancy frills that schools paid for it was about simple yet important things… Read more »

to #5
November 22, 2017 10:34 pm

you have no idea what the shluchim do…. they are the ones who spread the rebbes teachings to the world!!
thank you shluchim for all that you do!!

to #5
November 22, 2017 10:33 pm

Do you know what you are even saying? Please think next time before you spit out lies, do you even know what Shluchim do?! Shluchim also have tuiton problems… did you think of that? Appalled.

excuse me!!
November 22, 2017 10:31 pm

please do support us shluchim for if not who will!!

sadly it's a gimmick
November 22, 2017 10:18 pm

At the end of the day the school will keep on ocreasing the tuition and blame the parents for not selling raffle tickets when many of the people struggling are amongst friends who also struggle and can’t afford buying tickets either

The rich will pay their tuition through selling tickets to shell companies they control and the poor will be left holding the bag

The Rebbe’s Opinion
November 22, 2017 10:07 pm

When Rabbi Weinberg wanted to raise tuition, the Rebbe refused and said he should fundraise more and he did.

Pesach resorts
November 22, 2017 10:06 pm

How about every local family that goes away for Pesach to resorts must give matching funds to the mosdos?

RESIDENT - PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO READ THIS
November 22, 2017 9:42 pm

as rent goes higher , middle class famillies ( even those with both parents on a degree) WILL NOT be able to afford tuition., WE GET NO ASSISTANCE AT ALL. five thousand over the poverty line on the books makes you have to be stretched ten thousand ways. And most of us BECAUSE WE ARE WORKING ON HONEST PAPERS. We dont have relatives to fudge pay stubs and other shtick i hear. have mercy on us.

Keep the money in crown heights
November 22, 2017 9:05 pm

If people kept their maaser in crown heights and not gave to shluchim, the mosdos would be doing fine.

Please keep the money in crown heights!!

To #1
November 22, 2017 8:53 pm

You need to brush up on your studies. There is no obligation for anyone to pay tuition for girls. The obligation is to pay for boys only, and most of the halachos are specifically for young boys learning mikra (chumash).

Comment to #1
November 22, 2017 8:43 pm

Can u expound on the Halacha please

Two points
November 22, 2017 8:38 pm

1. One should be aware that according to halocho, it is actually the responsibility of the community to support the schools.
2. there are technical issue with this idea.

Instead of making raffle tickets for smaller prices, which would encourage more people to buy tickets and still come up with the same amount of money, instead it is larger prices.

My thoughts
November 22, 2017 8:25 pm

Here is my thoughts:

If a parent can afford to pay tuition they are obligated to. If not, the solution to the problem is already addressed in Shulchan Aruch, people may not like it, but it is there:

See הלכות תלמוד תורה of the Alter Rebbe, פרק א סעיף ג’

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