By Jeff Lipton
Kenny Gluck and Jonathan Isler, both of Woodmere, have organized a Committee for Supplemental Yeshiva Programs, comprising Orthodox parents in the Five Towns, to test the feasibility of joining forces with the Lawrence schools. The parents said they are paying between $6,000 and $18,000 a year to educate a child in the yeshivas. They would pay about $1,500 to bring a religious instructor into the public schools after school hours to educate their children. The students would study with other public-school children during the regular school day and then receive their religious education after hours in the public-school building.
Gluck said the partnership would benefit the public schools as well, since many private-school parents have been complaining that they are paying high school taxes and not receiving their fair share of services from the school district. He added that the partnership may be the turning point in getting a school budget passed in Lawrence, since a District 15 budget has not been approved since 2002, forcing the district to work on contingency budgets.
Gluck said that school administrators have been approached and are extremely open to the idea. Gluck and Isler have been discussing the possibility for the past two years, they said.
"I think it's great," said Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons. "I would love to be filling up these classes."
Since the proposal is in its preliminary stages, not all of the details have been ironed out. One important question is whether the partnership would violate the principle of the separation of church and state. Lawrence school officials said there are no religious groups currently using their school buildings for religious instruction. If the district were to allow it, it would have to provide the same opportunities to other religious groups, school officials said. They said they would check with their attorneys to determine the legal details.
Jack Feldman, an attorney for the schools, said the plan may be a violation of church-and-state laws and needs more investigation. He plans to discuss it with the school board and then offer his opinion.
"We would have to get a legal opinion about what accommodations, if any, we could provide them," said Fitzsimons. "We absolutely cannot break any laws."
Isler said it would be the ideal situation to keep their kids at the same location for secular and religious instruction, but if necessary, they would find another location for religious instruction. They would also provide a "token lease payment" if they were asked to in order to keep the school open, Isler said.
During a typical day, the Orthodox students would daven, or say their morning prayers, at a local synagogue, and then be bused to a public school like the Number Six School in Woodmere, where they would receive a secular education in addition to Hebrew language instruction. At the end of the public-school day, the Orthodox students - and anyone else who wants to - would meet in a school classroom for about 90 minutes of religious instruction taught by a religious-school teacher from the community or elsewhere. The school would remain open anyway for after-school and club activities, so the program would not be any costlier for the district.
"We've already held a lot of meetings, and the idea of joining forces with the Lawrence Public School system is spreading like wildfire," said Gluck. "Ultimately, this should help get the budget passed."
"We are very interested in pursuing this," added Isler. "We are in an e-mail campaign to get it started.
"This is not a recruitment to get children out of the yeshivas," Isler continued. "It is meant for Orthodox families who are struggling to pay the bills and facing the astronomical costs of a yeshiva education. It's all about the money for us."
In a letter to the community, the parents wrote, "We have already spoken with members of our public-school administration, and they have expressed an eagerness to provide a comfortable and supportive atmosphere and proactive assistance to enable these children to continue a yeshiva education in a separate setting while receiving the highest level secular education."
Rabbi David Leibtag, educational director at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, said he realizes that the cost of a yeshiva education is rising faster than the rate of inflation. "A quality education costs money," he said. "But my concern is that although it is well-meaning, what they are trying to do is not good for a Jewish child."
He said that concerned parents should sit down with Jewish leadership, local rabbis and yeshiva administrators to come up with a plan to help them out.
Isler said he is paying about $19,000 a year to educate his two children in the yeshivas, and that many parents are "up in arms" over the costs of a yeshiva education.
He said that to start with, the committee wants at least five to 10 Orthodox children to attend each of the second, third and fourth grades. To make them feel more comfortable, they would be kept in the same class on their grade level, making up about 25 percent of the class. He said it may not be realistic to start the program in September 2005, so the committee may set its sights on September 2006.
"In our town, our biggest issue is the ridiculous rise in the cost of a yeshiva education," said Gluck. "Under our plan, our kids will get a yeshiva education without paying for it. Obviously, we would pay the public schools for the supplemental yeshiva education."
Gluck said he has met with Orthodox rabbis in the area to present the idea. "We expect our proposal to run into some opposition in the religious community and with the rabbis," he said.
Rabbi Shneur Wolowik, spiritual leader of the Chabad of the Five Towns in Cedarhurst, said, "There is no supplement to a yeshiva. I have seen first-hand that there is no such thing. Chabad does offer Hebrew school for Jewish students in the public-school system for those who would like to be introduced to and be knowledgeable of their heritage."
Some religious leaders said that even though they do not endorse the program, they would assist the committee in helping to keep the Orthodox children "connected to their religious contacts," Gluck said.
He added that the proposal would also help boost enrollment in the public schools, which over the years have lost students to the yeshivas. Currently there are 3,850 students enrolled in private schools and 3,541 in Lawrence Public Schools. At the start of the 2004-05 school year, 3,812 children were enrolled in private schools and 3,679 in public schools. Since many Orthodox students already have solid educational backgrounds, they should also help boost the district's test scores, Gluck said.
Kathy Raquet, president of the Lawrence school board, said the idea of bringing more children into the public schools sounds exciting. "I can't see it being anything but a plus for everyone," she said. "I'm a total advocate for our public schools. We have some wonderful services, and we're open to anyone and everyone who wants to attend our schools. Anything we could do to bring our community together, I'm 100 percent for."
Raquet said she could empathize with private-school parents and the costs they must pay for tuition. "In some cases it's like sending three kids to college," she said. "I can't imagine what they have to spend for education."
Gluck and Isler said that anyone who is interested in the plan can e-mail them at torahafterps@yahoo.com.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
