I wrote this article to discuss the tuition crisis. And to share my perspective on the new initiative Beis Rivkah has devised to help alleviate the burden of the crisis.
But, before I dive too deep, I want to take a moment to give thanks to a certain special group of people. People that—despite the tremendous energies they invest and the work they put in—are often not congratulated as they should be.
I am referring to the Board of Directors.
You should know that the hard work you do for our school does not go unappreciated.
Now, onto the real reason I penned this article: The Tuition Crisis.
Tuition is a topic that bears heavily on all our minds. We have, ka”h, big families, and that is the greatest blessing we can ask for. But big families means big tuition bills. And finding money to pay the bills is a constant struggle.
There have been many solutions discussed over the years, and many different initiatives have been tried. Some have been effective and others have failed. But we, as a community, continue to try.
Recently, the board of Beth RIvkah devised a new solution to the tuition crisis: Selling raffle tickets.
The idea is simple. Parents sell raffle tickets to their friends and family, and the money raised offsets their tuition bill. Everyone gains: The parents pay less tuition, and the school covers their bills with the money raised.
I want to take the opportunity to discuss this idea in a public forum. I am a parent with, ka’h, a large family. And I struggle to pay school fees for my children. And I am an advocate of the raffle ticket initiative.
Do I think this selling raffle tickets the ultimate solution? No. Do I believe it will solve the tuition crisis? I don’t. But I do believe it is a step in the right direction. And I believe these are the kinds of steps we need to be taking.
That is not to say the raffle solution doesn’t have its flaws. It does. And over the number of conversations I’ve had with parents in our community, I’ve heard a number of complaints presented.
Because I think the raffle initiative is a step in the right direction, I wish to address the complaints I’ve heard one by one, and offer my perspective—the perspective of a parent who would be selling those tickets.
There are three general complaints I have heard:
1) The purpose of these initiatives is to lighten the load of tuition from the parents. The raffle initiative does not achieve that. It simply returns the burden back to the parents, only in a different capacity.
It is true. Having to sell raffle tickets means taking the burden of tuition onto your own shoulders. But I believe that is where the burden belongs: On the shoulders of parents.
It is a school’s job to educate our children. It is the parents job to foot the bill of that education. We are the ones obligated in the mitzvah of chinuch, and we are the ones who must ensure the organization that cares for their education is financially viable.
That doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to lighten the burden. We can. And we should. But we shouldn’t get confused between lightening our burden and shifting the responsibility onto the moised.
Does selling raffle tickets mean we are ultimately footing the responsibility for our kids’ chinuch. Yes, it does. But that’s the way it’s supposed to be. And the raffle is simply a tool to make it easier.
2) Most of the people I know are parents themselves and will be selling raffle tickets as well. So what exactly is the point?
It is true. A lot of people will be trying to sell tickets to the same crowd. And that is almost inevitable.
But that doesn’t mean that the raffle is pointless. Everyone has people they know that others don’t, or others wouldn’t think of selling to them. Think relatives from out of town, co-workers, random acquaintances. Outside of the immediate Beis Rivkah parent community, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find people you know to whom you can sell a handful of tickets.
3) If the money I raise from selling tickets goes toward my children’s tuition, does that mean I am collecting Tzedakah for myself?
Yes, it does. You are collecting Tzedakah for your children’s tuition. But there is nothing wrong with that.
What about when the school gives a tuition break? Or when you are unable to come up with the school fees at the end of the year and the school allows your child to stay. Aren’t you collecting Tzedakah then too? A school runs on money, and that money comes from somewhere. If I’m getting a break it means someone else is footing the bill. That is accepting Tzedakah. And accepting Tzedakah is OK.
I receive tuition breaks from my children’s school. I will be selling raffle tickets to offset my children’s school fees. And if we call that accepting Tzedakah then so be it. I need it.
Signed,
A proud Bais Rivkah parent.
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!
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.
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.
Schoyach!
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 »
everyone, besides the author of the article, knows what everyone ELSE should do.
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.
use your ma’aser money , tax excemption , l think my in laws did that, but it was hard
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.
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
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
The sense of entitlement in the above comments are appalling.
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.
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 »
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.
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?
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
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.
#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.
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.
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).
Work 3 jobs
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.
How about we first start with camp if you can pay for camp and pay for a bungalow match that with tuition
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.
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.
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…
talking about tzedaka.
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
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 »
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!!
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.
please do support us shluchim for if not who will!!
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
When Rabbi Weinberg wanted to raise tuition, the Rebbe refused and said he should fundraise more and he did.
How about every local family that goes away for Pesach to resorts must give matching funds to the mosdos?
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.
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!!
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).
Can u expound on the Halacha please
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.
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’