Sunday, April 26, 2009

No, We Do Not Have A Tuition Crisis

I abhor, detest, despise and just plain hate the way that the word "crisis" is thrown around today. The minute a problem raises its head, someone will whip themselves into a frenzy and yell "Crisis!" It's akin to yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. All it does is start a panic.

We do not have a tuition crisis in the frum community today. What we have is an education problem. And tuition is only a symptom, not the disease. A large part of that education problem centers on yet another problem, that of lack of transparency on the part of yeshivas as regards their actual expenses and income.

Our yeshivas tell us a lot, but they show us virtually nothing. They tell us that money is tight and people who could be counted on for donations don't have the money to give. They tell us about parents in financial trouble who can't cover the cost of tuition for their children. They tell us about rising expenses for providing an education. But they show us nothing that would back up what they are saying. Our schools expect us to take everything they are telling us on trust. Well, why not? For decades that is exactly what we have done. And look where all that trust has gotten us.

It's more than time that we stop placing our efforts and our raised voices into complaining that tuition is too high. It's time that we place our organized efforts into demanding that the schools that count on our children--and our money--for their continued existence show us precisely where and how they are spending that money. Please don't show me petitions that demand a tuition freeze; instead, show me petitions that demand that the books be opened. Schools are quick to ask parents to open their books to the school when calculating how much parents can pay in tuition. Well, I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours.

A school in New Jersey has announced that it will have to close the school lunch program as a cost cutting measure. It is also considering selling off some of its athletic fields for the same reason. So how much will closing the lunch program actually save the school? What does the lunch program actually cost? The school has 700 students. Does it cost the school $1.00 a day per student to serve lunch? Remember that "lunch" includes the personnel to prepare that lunch, serve that lunch, and clean up after that lunch in addition to whatever food is served. Does lunch cost the school $2.00 per day per student? $3.00 per day? And what about any school personnel that also eat lunch in the school, such as teachers and administrators? Do those people pay for their lunch, or is it thrown in as a benefit because they work there? Is lunch on Friday the same as during the rest of the week?

Let's estimate the costs for that lunch program. 700 students plus 25 administrative personnel who also eat lunch in school. Let's make it $3.00 per day, and let's even make Friday a full lunch. That's a cost of $2175.00 per day for the lunch program, if you assume that all costs for that lunch are included. That's a cost of $10,875.00 per week for the lunch program. Because of vacations and holidays, let's say that program runs for 37 weeks during the year. That would make the price for the lunch program $402,375.00 for the year. If tuition for the school was in the $11,000.00 per student range, this would mean that it takes the full tuition money from 37 students to pay for the lunch program. So, 5% of the tuition money taken in is used for lunch.

Now here is the problem--the figures above are all guesswork. As long as a school does not make its actual income and expenses open no one can say how much lunch costs or how much would be saved by eliminating lunch. What if lunch only cost $2.00 a day per person being fed? What if lunch cost $4.00 or $5.00 per day per person being fed? What if there are more administrative personnel who should be counted in for free lunches? What if some of the students qualify for the subsidized federal food programs, so that the school's expenses for lunch are reduced? The only fact that we know for sure is that we don't know any of the facts.

Accountability is a key word in all business environments; it should also be a key word in our yeshivas. If we're going to expend effort and energy in doing something about the high cost of yeshivas then let's start where it makes sense to start--what are the yeshivas spending, on what and where is the money coming from? Let's not frame the issue as a tuition crisis, which puts the onus on us as parents. Let's frame the issue as a school problem. This is a forest and trees situation; we're looking at the "tree" that is tuition when we should be looking at the forest as a whole.

Are you a parent with children in a yeshiva? Are you upset by the high cost of that yeshiva education and don't know why it is costing this much? Do you know other parents who are also wondering where the money goes? Then unite your voices and get a petition signed by the school parent body that demands that the books be opened. And please, could we stop worrying about how this may impact our children's shidduchim somewhere down the road? I would imagine that having parents who are in mega debt or who have declared bankruptcy would have a greater impact on shidduchim. Do you daven in a shul that is in the community where the yeshiva your children attend is located? The rav of your shul is a contracted salaried employee of the shul. As his employers, shul members could and should ask that he make it publicly clear he supports his members in asking that a yeshiva open its books for perusal.

It's going to take clear heads to dig us out of our financial mess, not "Crisis!" yelling. It's going to take action, not grumbling. It's going to take work on everyone's part, not leaving it to someone else. Until we are willing to commit ourselves publicly and with sustained effort then we, too, are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

11 comments:

The Hershbergs said...

Have you asked the yeshiva for transparency?

Rivi said...

With a united effort you might get some of the yeshivas to open up their books, maybe. But some of them won't no matter what parents do. My husband says they probably won't because for many of the schools the obvious answer would be to cut down on staff. Some of the schools are really top heavy with administrative staff. If parents can't see the books then they can't know just how much money is given out in staff salaries.

Lion of Zion said...

great post, but blah, blah, blah.
obseqious yeshivah parents will never do what you suggest.

ProfK said...

Okay, LOZ, but tell me WHY these parents won't do what I'm suggesting. What is really keeping people from agitating and working towards getting yeshivas to be responsive to parents?

I know what my problem is--I no longer have children in yeshiva. Because of that I don't have the same clout with a yeshiva that a parent of students in that yeshiva has. There is no threat I can make--and carry out--that I will remove my children or I will put my tuition checks into escrow until I'm shown the books. I am not a grandparent paying my grandchildren's tuition, where I have a direct financial interest in the finances of the yeshiva. In short, yeshivas are going to look at me as peripheral to their financial well being. And no, I'm not in the position of donating millions of dollars to a yeshiva either, another reason why my voice, all by itself, would cause no consternation with a yeshiva. Will I join the parents of the local yeshivas in asking for transparency? Yes, and I'll work with them too. But the push for this is going to have to come from those directly involved in the yeshiva system.

Yes, I've told our shul Rav that our local yeshivas need to open their books to the community. But if I'm the only making the suggestion the idea is going to go nowhere.

Now, tell me LOZ, why you, and your close friends, aren't canvassing other parents in your child's yeshiva to see if a united front could not be established? Before you say blah, blah, blah, what have YOU done, personally and as a member of a group of parents, to change the status quo? What of a constructive nature, other than complaining, have YOU done?

Please don't take this as a personal attack LOZ, because it's not. I am only hoping to point out that talking about what others have not done won't help to change the situation: we need to talk about what WE have done, individually, to try and change things.

Rae said...

Yes, a great post, but there are two problems you haven't covered. First, no one wants to be the first person to go public with what could be an unpopular idea with the yeshivas. People might get on the bandwagon if someone else starts things going.

The second problem is that the younger generations today don't have any history of activism, their own or in society in general. I'm guessing from what you've said that I'm closer in age to you then a lot of the other readers who post here. They don't seem to have any personal experience in seeing that protests and public protests and demonstrations have any power to change things. Honestly? For today's generation a "sit in" is a chassidishe shidduch date that takes place in the girl's house.

Tuvi said...

I don't think it's a problem of activism Rae. I was talking to my dad about some of this and he mentioned that the big problem is that those in charge of jewish institutions today, all of them, value conformity above anything else. Not conforming to what a school or shul or community expects of you can bring some real social problems to you and to your family. My dad says this was not so much the case when he was growing up. There were plenty of people back then who did things that were against what the community held or wanted but it was only them that people talked about or got back at. They didn't extend the actions against the whole family.

There was a post here a while back about Rabbi Twerski and how he resigned from a commission that was going to investigate sexual abuse in the frum community. He said he resigned because threats were made against his family. My dad says that was not the way things happened in his time.

Maybe I'd be more active in pushing for changes in the way our schools run if I didn't have the real worry that my actions wouldn't only affect me but would also affect my wife, kids, parents, siblings and in laws.

JS said...

"but tell me WHY these parents won't do what I'm suggesting. What is really keeping people from agitating and working towards getting yeshivas to be responsive to parents?"

Because if you don't pay full tuition you're embarrassed to come forward and demand they open their books. You're afraid of being exposed, so to speak. On the other hand, if you pay full tuition, you don't want to raise attention to yourself since you're afraid you'll be asked to put your money where your mouth is and contribute more.

"Our schools expect us to take everything they are telling us on trust. Well, why not? For decades that is exactly what we have done. And look where all that trust has gotten us."

Also at play is the issue of not questioning a rav/rabbi. It's like asking for a psak, you get told "yes" or "no" but not the reasoning.

Lion of Zion said...

PROFK:

"Now, tell me LOZ, why you, and your close friends, aren't canvassing other parents in your child's yeshiva to see if a united front could not be established?"

1) scheduling difficulties and other time-consuming responsibilities (more difficult now with two working parents) make it near impossible for parents to be involved
2) parents on tuition assistance can't make waves
3) parents with kids in very popular schools can't make waves (some parents will even pay extra to get a kid into a desired school)
4) parents with kids with issues (learning, behavior, etc.) can't make waves
5) a lot of us grew up in families that had trouble paying tuition, so we think that this abnormal situation is a normal one. (i.e., this is simply our accepted educational culture)
5) absence of broader communal support (will *your* rav that you mentioned above now approach the local schools to advocate for transparency? and if unsuccessful, will he publish an op-ed in the jewish press and devote a shabbat morning drasha to galvanize parents? or will he continue to repeat the mantra that greater hishtadlus and sacrifice by parents is needed?)
6) i think rae hit on a good point. the people of my generation never had to fight for anything and we don't know how to. or think that it's wrong
7) fighting the schools means fighting rabbis
8) parent associations are more concerned with bake sales than improving the school
9) strong boards/donors (look what happened with kushner)
10) inertia

now i'm sure you'll pick this list apart and yes, some reasons are more/less valid than others. but all a parent needs is for 2 or 3 of these reasons to apply to their situation in order to keep them quiet.

as for me? i approached administrators a number of times this year with suggestions and complaints. the first time i tried to get others to come with me. parents were all excited to share their frustrations on the particular matter before i went and all wanted to know afterward what transpired, but only 1 person came with me. after that i basically gave up and just went solo. now i realize this was a mistake and i should not have gone altogether. i probably have a reputation as a meshugene and nothing was accomplished anyway.

ProfK said...

LOZ,
Far from picking your list apart, I feel like crying. How is it possible that in just one generation there should be so much change, so much pressure to keep our mouths shut and leave the status quo alone? How is it possible that the generation that was known for its activism did not pass on any of its knowledge to the next generation?

And yes, how is it possible that personal threats against parents who speak up, threats that extend to the immediate and extended families of these parents, should have become the rule?

Every generation seems to have a few defining characteristics. It's sad, very sad, that "fear" is one of the defining characteristics of the generation(s) under mine.

Anonymous said...

Far from picking your list apart, I feel like crying. How is it possible that in just one generation there should be so much change, so much pressure to keep our mouths shut and leave the status quo alone? How is it possible that the generation that was known for its activism did not pass on any of its knowledge to the next generation?

And yes, how is it possible that personal threats against parents who speak up, threats that extend to the immediate and extended families of these parents, should have become the rule?

Every generation seems to have a few defining characteristics. It's sad, very sad, that "fear" is one of the defining characteristics of the generation(s) under mine.
[space]

It isn't new to this generation. Every generation has a pressure to conform and not become known as the "local meshugene". ProfK, surely you remember in your neighborhood the one or two guys that were labeled meshugenes? My neighborhood (central Boro Park) had a few meshugenes, mostly the fabrante JDL types. But one mild meshugene was my neighbor (who lived right up the street from me), Marvin Schick, also interesting that he's been on the "tuition crisis" kick for, as he says, 50 years. Here's a link to recent entry in his blog -

http://mschick.blogspot.com/2009/04/fifty-years-and-what-do-you-get.html

Don't get me wrong, I liked him back in the 60's and 70's in Boro Park, and I still like him, but he was clearly labeled a meshugene by many in the neighborhood.

How is it possible that the generation that was known for its activism did not pass on any of its knowledge to the next generation?[space]

We got rich and instead spoiled our kids (fancy private schools, fancy camps, fancy clothes, fancy toys, etc). No struggle for them.

Mark

ProfK said...

Mark,
Of course I remember the "meshugenes." But they were called that less in anger than in exasperation. In fact, some used the term in an almost endearing fashion. Sort of on the order of "He's a real nut, but he's our nut and we tolerate/love him." And I can't remember ever that such a person's actions brought down censure on that person's family, brought down threats against the family, brought yelling of "You're never going to make a shidduch for your children!" I can't remember even one instance where one of those "meshugenes" were put into "social cherem," and certainly not their families. They lived in our neighborhoods, they davened in our shuls, they sent their kids to school with our kids, they were a part of the community. And here's the best part--many, many of them did a whole lot of good, good that the community reaped. You want to call Marvin Schick eccentric? Fine, but his stewardship brought the RJJ schools through a lot of bad times. Could someone else have done better? You see anyone volunteering for that job?

I can still remember when the SSSJ--Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry--came into being, and Malcolm Hoenlein's efforts there. Plenty of people who booed and hissed and yes, I suppose they called him a "meshugene," to his face and behind his back. Notice all the Russian JEWS around? Tall oaks from little acorns grow, and SSSJ and the people who had the vision to start it aren't looking so "meshugene" now.