With talk about tuition relief and the upcoming election, be it through tax credits where companies give money to scholarship funds or vouchers, there's many questions that have people skeptical about it, if and when it becomes a reality.
The first one comes to mind: will schools stop raising tuition or even lower it once the money flows in ?
How many kids will end up getting it?
will it only go to low income families leaving the middle class holding the bill again?
who will decide which kids get the tuition relief and who does not?
Will the big well connected schools get access to the pot while smaller schools will be left out as was done with busing?
Just a few years ago during the covid era the schools made a lot of money thru PPP loans and lunch boxes, kids were home for 3 months with no schools, parents were out of work, yet almost all schools billed parents for tuition (besides for a select few who gave a credit).
The following year when people were struggling the schools raised tuition across the board, some going up 1200 a year per child.
It was not done yet, last year after Torah Umesorah made a campaign to raise teacher salaries the parents were under the assumption that the money would come from gevirim and other sources it turns out that the schools passed the buck and raised tuition again on parents. No one spoke up to defend the parents no one signed any letters calling on schools to have rachmanus.
So with all the talk about tuition relief there's skepticism and distrust as to how and what will happen. Did the moetzes and rabbonim have a letter making sure every mossad will not raise a penny tuition when the millions of dollars start flowing in?
Will there be oversight to make sure that the funds are distributed equally to all families and not through a system of pull and protektzia?
R' Aron Lang has been fighting NJ’s funding formula in court for the last several years which could bring tax and tuition relief to Lakewood, he got no help over the years as he fights this battle himself
will he get helped now?
Simple question
ReplyDeleteWhy can't Gary Schaer a frum assemblyman reintroduce this tuition bill he's already in office and it is for all yeshivos in New Jersey.
Why does lakewood have to oust a republican incumbent and vote for Avi Shnall if Gary Shaer can do it if this whole thing is about tuition.
Follow the money it is not just about tuition it's about having their boy in Trenton to give them power in other areas
DeleteThis should be printed and mailed to every home in Lakewood!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember when Menashe Miller was put up as a candidate and all the “unzere “ campaigns that were run then.
ReplyDeleteI see the same thing now and I am thinking that Avi Schnall is not running(; he is being run. The same forces that pushed MM And used the position to enrich themselves are doing it again with Avi Scnall. Ain’t nothing good gonna come out of this. Avi is little more than a pawn in the larger game plan.
Just a few years ago during the covid era the schools made a lot of money thru PPP loans and lunch boxes, In fairness other than utilities the schools still had most expenses even when closed during Corona. Plus Corona greatly strained their fundraising abilities. no dinners, no parlor meetings, no visits to gevirim etc.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness schools being closed with no maintenance and differed mortgage payments saved them hundreds of thousands don't pity them
DeleteDeferred mortgage payments don't save money.
DeleteA pawn in the governor's game. They are chumps and he outsmarted them. They think they are in control because, "It is who you know." Serious compromise and negotiation requires a keen understanding of the issues, forces for and against, laws and facts. But Lakewood people don't know anything. The governor ran circles around them. SP
ReplyDeleteThere's a chance the assembly in NJ can go to republican control
ReplyDeleteWhy are We are pushing a yid as a democrat in-state office and causing such sinas yisroel during this time when radical democrats are supporting Chamas and protesting openly in New York and New Jersey against all Jews.
We are turning our backs against friendly Republicans who helped us.
What happened to hakoras hatov that they always preach about from Rav Shneur zatzal
Is everyone scared to speak up and speak out because of a few powerful gevirim
We have lost our minds
Some gedolim said they didn't give an endorsement only a michtav bracha
Rabbosei wake up you are being fooled and played
What exactly has Ned Thompson done for Lakewood ??? Name one bill that he pushed for us??
DeleteRoute 9 Expansion?
Updated bussing formula?
Healthcare?
And the list goes on and on…
Ned has been in the opposition. There is not much he can do. Now we will get a Democrat when the assembly will flop, and we will again be in the opposition. No one will expand Route 9, ever. The bussing formula is controlled by the Dems. If it isn't working, why are we electing more dems?
DeleteNed Thompson did enough that the vaad voted for him because of Hakoras Hatov he's part of the republican team that helped lakewood read the articles in the Lakewood shopper the last few weeks
DeleteIt’s very simple.. If you feel the tuition burden as we all do, why wouldn’t you do whatever it takes to try to make it happen??!! Especially when all it takes is just to go vote!
ReplyDeleteA vote for Avi Schnall will allow the seat to be flipped which will the state political bodies that they ought to take Lakewoods needs seriously. Flipping a traditionally safe republican seat will turn Lakewood into the bell weather for NJ politicians and have them clamor for our votes.
Regarding making sure that schools don’t raise tuition etc. the funds will be coming from a Scholarship fund which will be funded through tax credits, thus allowing the fund to distribute the funds to schools that follow the criteria of the fund. It would probably make sense that the fund establish ground rules for the schools to ensure real tuition relief.
According to many of the people behind this movement, this is something that is being worked on.
Bottom line, it’s ours to lose! So just get out and take the time to vote and you may end up saving $50,000 once this goes into effect.
Funds will be coming from a Scholarship fund which will be funded through tax credits, thus allowing the fund to distribute the funds to schools that follow the criteria of the fund is practically telling the state to make other rules for the fund that will negate most. if not all Lakewood schools receiving any of the money. Do you think they will only make rules to ensure that you see some of the money but have no other say about criteria the schools receiving the money will have to follow?
DeleteLakewood will never be the bell weather of NJ due to specialized interests. I do not want the Lakewood to be looked as the swing vote depending on who is offering us more. That is guaranteed to whip us anti semitic fervor on BOTH sides, depending on who we go with
DeleteBottom line is this is a impulsive move with no afterthought no ramifications taken into account by the antisemitism it will bring and has already brought
DeleteNo care about us being in galus
And NO answers to how this will help the average Yosef.
It's a power grab disguised in tuition relief.
As you state it's ours to lose big time to when the whole thing is a safek and has serious risk.
Zul Der Oibishter upheeten klal yisrael
Wrong. You already lost it when your leaders sold out to the governor. Shnall made it clear that he opposes the litigation. So did the governor. Of course he did, because this whole thing is going to cascade when we win the Supreme Court. He won't be governor anymore. He will be safe in the US Senate. So what does Lakewood get for that? These people are cowards. They think you are someone because you know someone, or because you slap backs. They don't comprehend the issues, the law or the facts. They should step aside.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing. You must be delusional if Murphy is going to recommend a significant voucher program when the school district is borrowing $93 million a year, that comes out of the annual budget, and has to be paid back out of future state aid. He will introduce many a couple million dollars, 75% for public students. It won't make a dent. If he were to go big time for tuition reduction, the union would destroy him, and the people of NJ, 90% of whom were educated in public schools, 99% of whom do not want special favors to Lakewood (don't fool yourself, Lakewood is 1/3 the nonpublic population in the state), and Murphy's career comes to an end.
ReplyDeleteSo much about Shnall. He is a nobody. Forget him. His election is not important. As soon as he gets in, any Assemblyman with at. least a college education will see that he represents chumps who the governor just stepped over and have no clue as the politics of public schools. The most important election is for the BOE this year because they have been the enemy. A L
Hes going to be stuck in the conflict of interest board from day one trying to vote for anything the Agudah is advocating for.
DeleteVote for Board of Education the candidates that can help Aaron Lang succesful state lawsuit and bring relief to Lakewood by 'Fixing the Formula' Vote Eisenbach, Morgenstern and Schubert.
ReplyDeletePeople sound so dumb here. This tax credit is for business yes business the one that got tax abatements on their building so now more tax credit will go to them
ReplyDeleteRead this to understand why there's opposition
ReplyDeletehttps://www.faanews.com/2023/10/breaking-down-case-against-rabbi-avi.html
Torah umesorah Recommended schools raise tuition so they can raise teacher salaries. Well the first task work they raise tuition however teachers salaries Haven't been raised..... You can do the math 40 children in the class x 4500...is $180000 Teachers are getting paid maximum 40000 a year x 2 teachers Plus overhead you still have a lot of money left over not counting the lunch program and other programs........
ReplyDeleteAs my father told me many years ago "There will never be tuition vouchers in NJ & NY" and he was correct.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Hakoras Hatov for incumbents did the vaad of Roshei yeshiva or the guys behind schnall explain it how they ignore something that was preached for 50 years.
ReplyDeleteWhy they suddenly don't care to burn an incumbent
Will Schnall protect the interests of the voters he is asking to represent?
ReplyDeleteWill he protect zoning in Jackson and TR so it does not turn into the gridlock Lakewood is now?
Will he lobby to pardon R Asher Eisenmann?
Will he vote against abortion, forcing schools / businesses to accommodate people the torah calls a toavia?
Will he be more successful than Tompson in getting new money for bussing?
Will he protect the elderly from being killed by doctors?
Why does he think he will not suffer the same fate as Yecheil Kalish who was a dem and was run out of office for not supporting abortion?
Kalisch was run out even though he halfway supported abortion
DeleteExactly. Everyone forgets Kalish. He voted present, hoping he would appease the community by not voting yes on abortion and the Democrats by not voting no because they didn't even need his vote and instead he was ousted by both next election.
Delete