Recently group known as UENJ has submitted to various publications an article entitled, “Tuition Relief in NJ, Yes It’s Possible.” I do not know what the UENJ is thinking with their voter registration drive.
Our legislative district is heavily Republican already. Our legislators are only three of 120 in the legislature and the state is heavily Democratic. The solution to the tuition crisis is not vouchers, certainly not for all 45,000 of our children, but publicly paid English teachers. Vouchers will bring an end to the DOE's salutary neglect of the compulsory education laws. Mosdos will have to teach all subject in earnest and the children will have to take the state tests. The people of NJ, even Republicans, will not forgo hundreds of millions in tax revenue to pump more money into what is seen as the bottomless pit of Lakewood.
Consider 1) the allegations of educational failure in NY mosdos, 2) our elected BOE cannot get its financial house in order, 3) the state provided evidence at the school funding trial that the BOE wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, and 4) we have accumulated almost $200 million in debt and growing.
The state is happy enough to pass its fair share of public school expenses onto the people of Lakewood in the form of loans. Each year that passes before my petitioners, the students of Lakewood, get their day before the NJ Supreme Court, increases the burden of debt accumulated by the Lakewood taxpayer. The state certainly is not going to begin paying for the nonpublic education of 45,000 kids in Lakewood in the form of vouchers when they are not even fulfilling their constitutional obligation to support the public schools in Lakewood, as the judge in our case found.
Consider the scale of the task the UENJ is proposing. Public schools have always been connected in the American polity with the survival of the republic; and since ninety percent of New Jerseyans went to the public schools, they have broad-based support. To wit:
Ten years ago Governor Christie failed to get the legislature to pass the modest "New Jersey Opportunity Scholarship Act" even with Democrat sponsors. The current bill before the legislature does not have a single Democrat sponsor. It should be noted that the Christie bill reserved 75% of voucher money only for students enrolled in public schools who want to switch to nonpublic schools. That, of course, is the meaning of "choice."
Moreover, in order to even make a dent in the tuition crisis, vouchers would have to be so well funded and widely available, not just for the lucky few, that Lakewood will be singled out by the opposition. The state is not going to fund the full tuition of a ten-hour schoolday when only two hours are dedicated to secular subjects.
The NJ Supreme Court almost certainly will not permit such a disproportionate use of public funds for religion under the NJ constition, unless reasonably limited to the cost of the secular program, which will be then subject to state supervision; and given the size of Lakewood, with almost one-third of all nonpublic school students in the state, it will call into question the secular purpose of the funding and its consistency with the Establishment Clause of the federal constitution. Bad facts make bad law. Lakewood is such an extreme case that it can undermine the cause of vouchers for the rest of America. The mosdos will lose their curricular discretion and the NJ Student Learning Standards will be strictly enforced by any school accepting vouchers
The solution, to the extent that English is mutar in Lakewood, is for the district to provide free public school teachers for all children in all subjects. The governor has already gotten the legislature to provide the funding for the “Teach STEM Classes in Nonpublic Schools Grant Program.” It provided several free Lakewood public school teachers to the mosdos last year, most of whom were members of the community.
The law allows the nonpublic school to decide whom it wants to hire as long as the teacher is employed by the district. This kind of funding faces less opposition in Trenton because it is perceived as improving education while at the same time providing extra pay for public school teachers, most of whom are members of the teachers' union. It can be done without offense to the Establishment Clause and is less likely to, and has not, increased scrutiny of the academic programs in our mosdos. They will maintain their independence.
The success of this program, together with public support and political advocacy, may possibly lead to the provision of teachers in all subjects, more members of the community becoming eligible to teach in mosdos and perhaps a relaxation of some of the requirements.
Lakewood is too unique for conventional-thinking district leaders. They have failed to think out-of-the-box or innovate. The district can become an engine of opportunity for our kids and bring stabilized solvency to the finances of our town and families.
Aaron Lang
Of course he speaks the truth, while the askanim continue to fool the rabbanim.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the UENJ plan to set up tax dollar donations from corporations to fund the tuition for choice not school vouchers?
ReplyDeleteDon't confuse me with the facts
DeleteIf they get a state tax deduction, then there is a loss of revenue. Maybe this group will make campaign donations to Democrats and if they win them over then they will be in the same boat as in 2012. A lot of the NJ press supported it the, but I would imagine the teachers stopped it. At any rate, the law then required state testing. Of course, if too many kids fail, the Commissioner will send people from Trenton to inspect the school and order changes if they still want to be eligible. He even has the power now to check the curriculum but the policy is to leave nonpublics alone.
DeleteR' Aron has been single handedly fighting for Lakewood children and families for tuition relief for over 10 years yet the community leadership not only didn't support him or help him but they fought him and tried to sabotage his efforts.
ReplyDeleteNow that gevirim are in charge every one is lining up behind it like tatelech.
.. all that matters is who will dominate and on the top
DeleteCf. Eichah
Medrash near the beginning
Please be clear. I assume you mean Aron Lang and not the other Aron with the well known last name.
DeleteTotally agree with this. Not sure what those pushing vouchers are thinking but I see many problems with it (1)Very likely vouchers will be paid by the municipal education department which means Lakewood residents will anyway be paying for it. The state certainly isn’t going to pay for vouchers and leave the public school burden on local municipalities. If they would every municipality would just change their public school into a private system and stop paying school tax (2) With vouchers will come increased scrutiny and demand for a say in the way mosodos are run (3)they will create an economic reality that will cause the mosdos to be totally dependant on the government . Somewhere down the line this will cause major conflicts and problems. If the girls schools in Lakewood did away with most of their Friday schedule for bussing just imagine what the mosdos will give in to for a loss of all funding .etc.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lang, I tremendously respect your efforts on behalf of Lakewood's schools, both public and private. I also agree with your assessment of UENJ's voter drive and chances of success.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, please realize that publicly funded English teachers are not a solution for Lakewood. The STEM program is currently helping only a few Lakewood schools, for many reasons: only full time public school teachers qualify, greatly limiting the pool of acceptable teachers, and yeshivos rightly fear the potential for intrusion into their curriculum. Also, even for schools in Bergen County who make wider use of the program, the program covers only a fraction of the school's operating budget. Expanding that program is not the answer.
I know. And I just heard that the mosdos rejected the STEM program when the OU met with them.
ReplyDeleteI have wanted an administrative position in the central office to fix the district since I got my superintendent's license 15 years ago. There have been improvements with the monitors but the debt keeps increasing. One of my ideas was to offer free teachers using Option Two of the administrative code. That was somewhat far-fetched, more so than the present program, but it would have brought millions to Lakewood's public school system and provided tuition relief for the people. Without getting into details, I thought then that if we actively recruited community members, we would have a large enough pool of teachers from the community to make the idea palatable. I gave up on it because the funding case had so much more potential to bring financial relief to the district, and of course, mosdos do not want public school teachers.
My other initiatives had more public support. I wanted to open the industrial arts classrooms to the oilam at night. The BOE closed them down, however. My idea was that the high school would thrive and programs would not close if we served the community with them. We still have state-of-the-art technology equipment and computer classrooms. We could have separate men and women classes for yungerliet and their wives after school or at night. I also had a plan to integrate school and work for LHS students so that their jobs at Bagel Nosh and other places connect to what they learn at school. They would become better employees and it would enhance their achievement. And of course, there was the state funding idea. I did not need the BOE, Igud or superintendent's approval for that. (In fact, at a Igud political meeting of over 100 rabbanon, township commiteemen and BOE members, one school owner shouted me down in front of every askan and leader when I said I was going to file. He screamed twice, "Nobody writes the commissioner without our approval." I turned all white and felt the blood run out of my head. Then they collected $40,000 in pledges to hire a lawyer, right in front of me, to file the same kind of case. They ended up going with the Bacon case, for which Lakewood had a poor record, and it was dismissed.)
Alas, the more I tried to enhance the bottom-line of the district organization, the less chance I had to ever get that administrative job. I got demoted to the middle school same month that the school funding trial ended. Why would they oppose a teacher litigating against the state for school funding? Maybe because they were working on a political solution? But they had no results for two decades! Not sure about their motives, but they did not like me stepping on what they thought was their turf. It is not. The public schools and the township belong to the people. A Lang
Did that big askan school owner ever ask you mechilla. He should be called out and publicly apologize to all Lakewood residents. Yes on erev Yom kippur
DeleteIt seems that the main objective of Mr
ReplyDeleteLang is to have a more sophisticated English then to save money for the parents
That is not true. I would like to see American history taught because I think it is necessary for the virtues of citizenship and good government. I
Deletecould not care the least if your kids know anything else. I don't run a business so I am not hiring them. As for owning a business, you don't need any education at all in Lakewood to run a business that or a service. In fact even in the trades people don't need years of experience. You can just hire someone with the knowledge or license. It's were "A" and "B" serve "C." So I would not waste my time trying to have better English. Yes, I am cynical about Lakewood. I mean no disrespect but I came here for BMG. That was the draw, not for the way people do things.
The spread eagle; classic late 19th century;academic; 1619;woke; Arthur Schlesinger liberal; the Warren Court; wilsonian left center or right center; Faith ,family and states rights; populist;- which of the above versions will you aim for?
DeleteHow about Yuval Levin for a contemporary
DeleteI learned about the Constitution from Wallace Mendelson at UT in 1979, who was a talmud of Mr. Justice Felix Frankfurter, who was a talmud of Mr. Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes and Mr. Justice Louis Brandies, all of whom were talmidim of Professor James Bradley Thayer. You can see Thayer's seminal paper:
Deletehttp://lakewoodlaw84048.ipage.com/The%20Origin%20and%20Scope%20of%20the%20American%20Doctrine%20of%20Constitutional%20Law.pdf
Holmes was a contemporary rather than student of
DeleteThayer. He was publishing his Magnum opus and making his mark way before Thayer published anything.
Wikipedia surprisingly also calls him a student.
Interesting
That is because they all held of Thayer, that the Court should restrain itself and not rule acts of the states (unless there is a conflict with an act of Congress) or Congress unconstitutional. Mendelson used to say, 19 members of Congress that wrote the Judiciary Act, and the president, Washington, who signed it, were at the Constitutional Convention. Yet Marshall, who was not there, ruled the law unconstitutional i Marbury v. Madison (1803).
DeleteAnd Look at the result. This nonsensical substantive due process. The Lochner Court, that everyone says is so bad because it created the right of privacy in contract, so government cannot regulate business, is not different than the Grisswold line that created the right of personal privacy, Roe, Lawrence and all those cases. It all traces back, ironically, and this is my chidush, but correct, to the great advocate of states' right, John Calhoun, who said that Congress cannot regulate slavery in the territories because of the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. So what was the result? Civil War, and using the 14th amendment (which BTW did not incorporate the Bill of Rights, Justice Black's argument were wrong and shallow) laissez faire capitalism until 1937, after Frankfurter left the Court, opening up our prisons, and incorporation of the Bill of Rights, and now putting guns all over America. Remember, the Bill of Rights was to protect against federal power, not state. Miranda was more psycho-babble than law. We had a robust Fourth Amendment in the 1920s and on to the 1960s. When the Warren Court incorporated that, since the robust old federal standard would have tied the hands of regular police too much, even federal officers now have a freer hand.
Mr Lang is a tireless advocate for the klal and deserves much credit for the effort he puts in on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteHe is however, out of touch of what the average Lakewood family wants and needs.
It would be beneficial for everyone if Mr Lang would dismount his high horse and try to get acquainted with the needs of the community
you mean the need$$ of the ro$hei mo$dos who just raised tuition on poor parents blaming it o having to raise the teachers salaries which they never gave them anything more than a few thousands while raking in hundreds of thousands by tuition hike while living the high life with apartments in Florida and Israel jet setting across the world.
DeleteIll take reb Aaron Lang any day to help the parents with the real needs of the community
Which roshei mosdos have apartments in Florida? Put up or shut up.
DeleteWhy do I need to get acquainted with your needs? Do you pay me for my litigation? Did you protest when I was demoted? Did you throw out your elected BOE that keeps me at $60,000 a year at the bottom of the organization and does not allow me to work for the benefit of the community? An administration that protests a judge's ruling that can bring the relief to Lakewood that they themselves have tried for two decades? I could not care the least anymore. And when we bring a billion dollars to Lakewood taxpayers, I will not even be living here anymore. I have no stake in Lakewood. It is all just a matter of stepping up to the plate, patriotism if you like, being a man, because no one else is doing it.
DeleteDon't know about apartments in Florida, but owning a 7 million building in Lakewood paid by poor parents in conjunction with so called building campaign is no small deal
DeleteAnd if you are a member of the group proposing the voucher voter registration, my "high horse" op-ed would not be here if you have to correct email on your website. I originally wrote this for you and the email bounced back. "High Horse!" I do not owe you. If for every ten ideas that won't work, one pays off, then it is worth it. How would you react to a public organization, and the town that supports it, in which merit, qualification and innovation is meaningless, nay punished, while complacency, mediocrity and submission is rewarded?
ReplyDelete