Thursday, February 19, 2009

Shuls Are Under-utilized

Many shuls today are vastly under-utilized. They have minyanim for davening both weekdays and on Shabbos. They may offer some evening shiurim. Beyond that many are empty the whole day. Yes, some larger shuls may offer Talmud Torah-type classes at some point during the day. Yes, some shuls may have nursery school/play group types of programs. Some may offer daytime learning opportunities. But looking around I see many, many of these shuls standing empty and unused. Why? Why aren't these shul buildings being used in ways that will be helpful to the community?

What are some possible ways that shuls could be used to the benefit of the communities they service?

1) After School Care. Many working parents have real problems with coverage for their children. Even when the children are in school programs, these programs may let out before parents have returned home from school. These parents then have to pay for babysitting of some type. But every working parent who has ever hired a private in-house babysitter also knows that these sitters cannot always be there when they say they will be; they get ill or have family emergencies of their own. If a shul were to sponsor an after school care program there would be a reliable source of care for children. School buses could deliver the children to the shuls rather than to their homes. In addition, on days that schools let classes out early or have no classes at all, such programs could run during the day so that parents aren't constantly scrambling to find reliable care for their kids.

2) Nursery/Kindergarten Programs. Shuls have the space available to be able to run nursery school programs. I am willing to bet that they can deliver a lovely program for far less than yeshivas are presently charging for such programs. (I happen to know if two rebbetzins that run such a program in their shuls and parents consistently choose them over a school-based program because the program is fantastic and yes, it is waaay cheaper than the school program.) As I have mentioned before, TAG charges $11,400 for kindergarten. Let's say a shul offered a kindergarten program and had only 14 children in it; at TAG that would be $159,600 in tuition money coming in. Here's what I can tell you; the teacher of that class is not getting $159,600 in salary, not even when you count in an assistant in the class. Clearly two things are happening: 1) the money is going towards other expenses of the school and 2) not every parent is paying full tuition.

Shuls are already paying insurance to cover those using the facilities. Even adding in more coverage you are nowhere near that $11,400 figure. Toys and books and supplies? Let's be really generous and say that in the first year it would cost $300 per student to outfit the classroom. Most of what is purchased will be around for many more years, so the cost will go down after the first year. Let's say that snacks and lunches, if provided by the school, would run $700 per child, per year. So far a shul kindergarten will cost for added insurance, supplies and food $15,000 for the year. Now let's be really generous and add in $50,000 in salaries for teachers and assistants. That brings the cost to $65,000 for the first year the program runs. The cost per child? Approximately $4,642, way less than half of what the school charges. The program now becomes affordable for parents, particularly for working parents who are paying babysitting in addition to school tuition.

3) Limudei kodesh programs for children who attend public schools. I am not talking here about introductory Talmud Torah programs for those from non-frum backgrounds. I am talking here about a substitute-type of program for the limudei kodesh part of a regular yeshiva program for frum parents who simply cannot afford yeshiva tuitions any longer. Let's put 10 kids into this class. Let the class run for two-three hours a day, four days a week, with no classes on Friday. Let's make this a girls' class. Let's also be generous and pay that morah better than most yeshivas pay their morot. Let's give her $25,000-$30,000 a school year. That is a cost to each student of $2,500 to $3000 for the teacher. Now let's add in incidentals of supplies, again many of which will be used again after the first year. That would make it $3,000-$3,500 per student for the year. If the program were to be for boys, as presently structured in yeshivas and duplicated in a shul program, you would need to add more hours for the boys resulting in more salary paid to a rebbi. Let's say that the rebbi would make in the $35,000 to $45,000 range, depending on the age of the talmidim and the number of hours taught. That would be a charge to each student of $3,500 to $4,500 per year. Please note: these are only working figures and it is possible that the amount paid out by parents could be less.

4) Senior Citizen Programs. We have a large number of older people who are now either retiring or who have been retired for some time. Our community is remiss in not providing any programs for these seniors. Many of these seniors would welcome activities geared to their interests, both for the mental stimulation and for the socialization. Certainly shiurim are part of such a program, but so are lectures of many types. So are classes of all kinds. So are sponsored trips. There is so much that could be done, and it is appropriate that a shul should be the place to start such programs.

I have presented the above as a starting point for shul-based activities. The buildings are there. The insurance is already being paid. Even adding in some additional expenses for extra heating or electricity would not price the programs out of the range of most people. Shuls would present good alternatives to what is available today.

15 comments:

Orthonomics said...

I agree that some shuls are underutilized. However, some of your numbers don't quite compute and any shul looking to run a pre-school or after school program is going to have to do things right should the program break even and/or turn a profit. That is a fact! Otherwise you end up creating a program where shul donations and membership end up subsidizing day care.

Insurance will have to be increased as the type of insurance needed for a pre-school program is a different type. Increased janitorial fees is a give. Not every facility is eligible to be licensed by the state or county without meeting strict requirements. Once you are turning the lights, heat or air conditioning on all day it is vital that these programs pay for themselves. And unfortunately they don't always pay for themselves because too low a price is charged and people don't pay up (a frustration every shul already has with dues).

Some synagogues are very successful with the programs they run and others find themselves in the hole. Sometimes it is better to find someone entreprenurial to run a program and just rent out a facility and be clean of the headache.

Anonymous said...

SL, you mentioned insurance issues; other requirements that are hard to meet for a new preschool include (in NY at least), a bathroom in each preschool classroom. Older schools may be grandfathered.

Anonymous said...

Our shul's kindercare program uses the small social hall/kiddush room which has a bathroom right off of it and we had no problem getting approval for the arrangement. The state was more worried that there be two exits from the area used, which we already had in the shul to meet the insurance requirements. Even with all the extras for the insurance rider and the extra utilities the program in the shul is cheaper then anything available in the schools or paying privately at home. Our rebbetzin runs the program and you bet she has a good business head. Any profit for the program goes into the shul's pocket, and she makes sure there is a profit. She does do this--if you are a shul member then you just pay the straight charge for the program. If you're not a member then you pay the membership fee in addition to the program. Still not as expensive as the schools.

Anonymous said...

Rita, I'm just curious, is this a Chabad shul? This sounds like the Chabad business model.

Anonymous said...

Tesyaa, I'm just impressed that you can put the words business model together with any shul or frum school or organization. If Chabad has a business model, one that gets duplicated by all Chabad shuls, then they are way ahead of everybody else. Might be way past time to get rid of all the politics and ask Chabad to teach others how to run things with a plan.

Anonymous said...

From what I heard it's definitely a business model. Chabad shlichim must raise a great deal of their operating funds, usually largely funded by a daycare / preschool / afternoon Hebrew school. The funds they raise also pay the shliach's family salary, in addition to operating the Chabad house / shul. Since this is literally their livelihood, they don't like competition from other schools and might not be inclined to share success tips.

Anonymous said...

I agree that shuls are under-utilized. I like your ideas and most are viable options. One thing I would like to see at more shuls are programs for disabled Jews. Those who are disabled are often 'set aside' from the community. There are some programs for Disabled Jews in certain areas in New York but really nothing else in other areas.

Another thing I notice is the lack of activities for those who are unmarried and are 20+ years old. Most shul programs are geared towards people with families and kids.

Anonymous said...

One thing I noticed: you don't account for payroll taxes on the employer's side. They're not a huge amount, but I'm presuming that you're not including them in that salary package.

TWWJ- "Another thing I notice is the lack of activities for those who are unmarried and are 20+ years old. Most shul programs are geared towards people with families and kids."

This is definitely an issue. Furthermore, when programs are offered for those people, they're usually singles events. Having a place for 20-something singles would be a great boon to the Judaism and community feeling of those people.

Anonymous said...

Ours isn't a Chabad shul but it does pretty much run like other Chabad places I've seen. Our rebbetzin's mother years ago ran a program like the one her daughter runs and she assisted her mom so she had some experience. Her salary is a nice percentage of whatever profit there is to the program, with the rest going to the shul. The shul does require a set amount to come in to it at minimum, so if the profit goes down the rebbetzin gets less in salary. Could be one reason why she is so good at keeping costs in line. She also has her daughter helping her out in the afternoons so another generation is getting training in how to run such a program.

ProfK said...

JLan,
I don't tend to think "off the books" so yes, any taxes would be included in that salary amount I estimated. Even subtracting taxes of all stripes, there is a solid salary left for the teacher/assistants. You can't think public school salary ranges when you are talking about what Jewish schools/shuls pay for teachers. For one thing, certainly in the more right wing schools, the teachers are not even college graduates, never mind licenced. Some of those teachers are in college but not yet finished. An acquaintance's daughter taught second grade English studies last year at one of these schools. She was 19 at the time. She made $16K for the year inexperienced. But an experienced teacher in the same school was only making $18K. And I know that some people are making a bit less than this. Seemingly the only ones who are making out better are at schools more to the left or who are working not for salary but for tuition reduction. If you slash $20-30K off of such a teacher's 60-70K tuition bill then yes, the teacher is making out really well.

ProfK said...

Re the programs for those 20+ and single, yes, a whole lot more needs to be done by the shuls. When I moved to NY the Far Rockaway area had activities for this age group. There were regular Friday night onegs for collegiates, and no, they weren't singles events as they are defined today. The Young Israel national office ran all kinds of collegiate programs. There also seemed to be more of a push to get these people involved in the "regular" programs as well. Bikur Cholim tapped lots of us in college to volunteer our services. I'm going to guess that what seems to be the sticking point today for the lack of collegiate type activities outside of straight single events is that mixed socialization/fraternization has come to be looked upon with disfavor by even the more modern leaning of the community. We're disenfranchising a lot of people that we should be holding close instead.

Anonymous said...

I agree that shuls could be doing lots more in providing community services. The building is already there. It seems to me that in some cases, where the shul is owned by the rabbi, that there is no incentive to do more for the congregants unless money is involved. When they charge a rental for someone having a simcha that's an okay use because it brings in a profit to the rabbi. Maybe someone needs to point out that some of the things you suggest might also be profitable, as long as the money involved remains reasonable.

Anonymous said...

Singles events don't have to be in mixed company. I, as a single woman, would love to get to know other single women. I live outside of the local Jewish community [because I can't financially afford to live in it] and find it challenging to meet other Jewish women to be friends with, etc.

According to some Rabbis I know [who are in their early 30s], young Jewish men are the one groups most at risk to abandon Judaism all together or - at the very least - go Reform/Reconstructionist but still marry non-Jewish women. I think group activities for 20+ year old Jewish males might help keep them around and observant.

Anonymous said...

I think that Wandering hit on an important point. The 20+ offerings don't have to be mixed. But please no one shoot me, I also think that programs for the 20+ age group should not only be learning groups. Our shul gets a good turn out when it has a shmiras haloshon program but nowhere near as large as when a caterer gave a Cooking for a Crowd demonstration. I imagine the same interest level might apply to the 20+ group. Give this group something active to do so they get involved and bond with each other. Someone at risk for going off the derech is probably not going to attend 5 shiurim a week, but he might find playing ball of some kind or going to a sports game as a group a way of staying connected. He might find some interest in being a key part of a fundraising event or a special event put on for some disadvantaged group.

I may be a little cynical here but I think maybe the reason more shuls don't have this kind of secular or activity programming is that they are worried about their outside image. Shiur=okay but ballgame is too modern. So we lose younger people from the community but the image remains acceptable? Isn't that what they used to call throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

Anonymous said...

I think Rita that the image worries are more in the larger metropolitan Jewish areas then in the smaller out of town areas. Our shul functions as a multi-purpose place, sort of a shul and Jewish Community Center in one. It provides some purely social activities, even if they are organized around Jewish holidays or community concerns in a lot of cases. Anyone with a group that wants to meet can utilize one of the shul classrooms or activity rooms. A bunch of women, single and married, get together every week to knit and crochet together for specific projects, like sending hats, socks and kipot to the chayalim in Israel. They also knit blankets for children ill in hospitals locally. There's regular sports opportunities every week in the gym area. One of the men gives a regular class on how to get the most out of using your computer. i just don't see this happening in areas where every shul worries if it will be seen as frum enough by the other shuls.