JO Review: Tuition vs. Retirement

Please read the previous questions asked at the Agudah convention regarding tuition and answered by Rabbi Shmuel Feurst, if you have not previously read them (Tuition vs. Camp, Tuition vs. Vacation, Tuition vs. Kollel).

Question--What comes first, tuition or retirement funds?

Answer-Obviously, tuition comes first [emphasis added]. While everyone would like to have a retirement fund, accountability for one's children comes first.

Unfortunately, and with all due respect, what is obvious to the Rabbi is not so obvious to me. The Rabbi seems to be of the belief that retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs, Roths, etc) are luxuries. I am of the belief that a minimally and/or modestly funded retirement account is not just something nice, but is something necessary and goes hand in hand with being "accountable to one's children."

I think we can all agree that people get old (it happens!), older people can no longer work the same hours as young people, and medical expenses tend to increase in old age. People still need to eat, utility bills still need paid, taxes still need to be paid, etc. If a person has not saved up, guess who will be picking up the tab? Most likely a combination of their children, the community, and the government. Since I tend to view all of the needs to the Jewish community as interconnected, I view the lack of saving (combined with spending and debt financing) as something we all will pick up the tab for eventually.

So here is the deal. A person that starts funding their retirement account at age 25 will only have to put away a small amount of money (say $2000 a year, or $167 a month) to reach a reasonable goal upon retirement. Whereas, a person who decides to forgo funding their retirement account until age 45 will have to put away at least six times more (read: no less than $12,000 a year) to reach the same goal. Wait even longer, and that amount could be twenty fold.

On top of all of that, the matching funds that your company might have provided you are gone forever. Even if you don't fund a certain amount during one pay period, you are out that money forever. Every company has a different vesting and matching policy (5%, 3% up to 6%, etc). But no matter the policy, last I checked a 50% return or even a 100% return is phenomenal. And those matching funds make it easier to reach a reasonable goal.

Now, I'm not sure that if I sat on a tuition committee, that I would be so keen about hearing a family's plans about not paying tuition in lieu of funding their retirement account because the schools needs the money now. Nor would I be too thrilled about hearing their plans about taking a discount so their children can go to camp (which was recommended). And, I'm sure I would not want to hear about how they lack cash flow after "juggl[ing] funds" (i.e. borrow and borrow some more) to pay for weddings and "support" and how they now need a deep reduction because the bank is eating them alive yet they still have kids they need to put through school.

So, what to do? I don't know. Ultimately, if I could force young people to start to put as much as they can into their retirement accounts starting as soon as possible, I would. Because chances are the schools aren't going to make room so they can put $2000 away for retirement even if they make room so they can send their kids to camp.

Up Next: More on Retirement

JO Review: Tuition vs. Kollel

Continuing my series (see previous two posts), here is the question posed to Rabbi Shmuel Feurst about priorities between tuition for younger children and weddings/post-marriage support for married children.

Question--Can a parent say, "I am supporting children in kollel. Therefore, I can't pay full tuition"?
Answer--One's first priority is to support one's children who are still at home, attending elementary school or high school. Married children are a second-level priority. When making shidduchim, a person may have to juggle funds, and hopefully, the tuition committee will have compassion for the parents, but that does not change the priorities. By halacha guidelines, Torah education of one's young children comes first, and afterwards, support for married children.

I am pleased by this answer. But does anyone want to take a stab at what "juggl[ing] funds" entails?

But ultimately, I'm not sure that financial issues play out so cleanly in reality. Evidence suggests that massive amounts of money are spent on weddings (engagement to post-wedding) and significant debt is incurred during this time period. Certainly, that debt eventually catches up and the schools are going to get a lesser piece of the pie because much of the pie has been already been eaten, unless I am completely off base and it is only the last marriage that gets debt financed?

There are a lot of things that could be discussed here, but that is what my loyal commentors are bound to do. So, I'm signing off for now.

Next up: Tuition vs. Retirement (the last of the four questions in the Jewish Observer Tuition Dilemma issue).

JO Review: Tuition Vs. Vacation

In the last post I looked at Rabbi Shmuel Feust's answer on tuition vs. camp, where camp was deemed a necessity. The second question posed to him at the Agudah convention Tuition Forum is as follows.

Question: Can a person who doesn't pay full tuition take a vacation?

Answer: In one community, the tuition committee monitors all the parents--when they go on vacation, where they go, what type of hotel they stay in. The following year, the interviewer can tell them how much they spent on their vacation.

"Vacation" may mean going out of town for a couple of days, or it could mean taking a trip to Eretz Yisroel, Acapulco, Florida, or Palm Springs. The tuition committee would have a basis to say that you have no right to take such a vacation unless you pay full tuition. If however, you wanted to go to the mountains and stay in a bungalow colony for a week or two for health reasons or change of scenery, that may well be different.

I see value in taking low-key family vacations to national parks or historical sites. I personally have no interest in vacationing with the neighbors be it in Acapulco or in a bungalow colony. But that is neither here or there.

The Rabbi was very vague with his answer. I imagine that is because vacations are abused and there are sometimes cases where families need a break and it is affecting shalom bayit. However, I can't understand why sleepaway (not day) camp would get a "yes," while taking a low-key family vacation gets a luke warm "maybe."

There really should be a guide for applying for tuition reductions that lets you know when you should just forget about it and lets you know what type of expenses you are allowed to make should you apply. Maybe one could trade camp reductions for tuition of x dollars for lesser amount to take a road trip to a national park and camp out in Motel 6's along the way?

JO Review: Tuition Vs. Camp

The Jewish Observer "Tuition Dilemma" Issue has an interest transcript of a question and answer session conducted by Rabbi Shmuel Feurst, Rav of Agudath Israel of Chicago regarding tuition issues. Below I am reproducing the first question and answer regarding tuition vs. camp. Other questions to follow in upcoming posts.

My comments to follow.

Question -- Overnight camp can cost $2,000, $3,000, or even $4,000, and day camps can also cost $1,000-$2,000 if the child is enrolled for the entire summer. Can one apply for a scholarship from his child's school if he would be able to pay full tuition, were he not to send his children to sleepover or day camp?

Answer -- Today's culture can be very corrosive. A child goes to school for nine-ten months. If he does not attend a day camp or overnight camp in the summer, he can lose everything he gained in those ten months -- and even worse. To keep children on the derech HaTorah, one must keep them off the streets. One would then have a right to ask for a tuition reduction.

It is really hard to know where to start with this discussion, but I will presume that this "psak" is practiced vis a vis tuition since I know mothers who send their children to summer camp who are on scholarship (and not every mother is working during the summer).

So I will start by asking a question: Why should a Yeshiva have to cut their costs so children can go to camp? Why shouldn't it be the opposite? Why shouldn't camps have to compete for whatever dollars are left after tuition, rather than Yeshivot trying to take whatever is left after camp?

Of course, no one wants their children to be idle during the summer. We want our children to keep up with their learning, daven, read, and explore their interests and talents that might lay dormant during the school year. Some would argue camp is a necessity to prevent such. I would argue that a summer could be productive for a whole lot less.

There is a saying that "necessity is the mother of invention." We have spent time on this blog exploring inventive alternatives to the current day school situation from homeschooling (which deserves its own post) to virtual schooling, to Elliot Pasik's Two Building Solution.

I would say that the alternatives to summer camp are nearly endless (even when a parent is not home all day everyday during the summer), while the solutions to receiving a Jewish education are more limited, but not unlimited. I hate to argue with a person far greater than me, but it seems unfair to put more burden on the the schools and on the other parents by declaring essentially declaring summer camp (with emphasis on camp) a necessity.

Have at it.

Sefer Breishit:
An Introduction to Human Kind's Trials and Tribulations

I'm taking a very brief break from Orthonomic subjects to discuss something different. I caught this post on BeyondBT from "Anxious Ima." Her 10 year old scribbled a musing about his Rebbe engaging in relationships with his morah, which caused the poor mother to become very anxious, and sent her running to the trash can with her novels. They don't have a TV, watch movies, or allow their children to surf the internet. And yet her son is curious about sexuality.

In my opinion it is normal for a 10 year old to take an interest in such. I remember sitting on the rug in my (public) 3rd grade classroom during a dictionary assignment. The girls were working on the assignment, while a small group of boys (one of whom is a wonderful husband and father, as well as an officer in the US Army serving in Iraq) sat in a circle looking up the word sex and laughing. As I recall, they became frustrated as the dictionary did nothing to help them figure out what this forbidden word meant. The teacher walked by and redirected them in their work, and no one was sent to the principal's office, nor was anyone punished or suspended. The message that the discussion the boys were having was inappropriate was made quietly.

The first thing that hit me when reading the post at BeyondBT is that we are currently in Sefer Breishit! Shlomo HaMelech writes that there is nothing new under the sun and we should need no more proof of that since every societal trial, tribulation, ill, and/or challenge is laid out right from the start in the Torah: murder, homosexuality (sodomy), incest, rape, prostitution, infertility, trickery, dishonesty, and even flirtatiousness.

All parents, myself included, wonder when our children should be introduced to sensitive topics. Do we relate the details of Lot offering his daughters up to the townspeople? Do we relate the rape of Dinah in the upcoming weeks? What do we say about Yehuda and Tamar? If my own son's thirst for Torah learning continues-may it be so-there is no hiding from any of these subjects. Currently, he loves to look at a halacha picture book (for adults) showing the details of bishul on Shabbat (his Mommy is getting a great review). Iy"h, he will soon pick up a Chumash and I'm guesing he won't be skipping over what I might prefer not to discuss.

While our children are relatively sheltered, and will continue to be sheltered, we ave no choice but to discuss certain subjects. Personally I'm glad the Torah gives me the framework to discuss what needs to be discussed.

My kids are young, but thanks to the Chumash, we have already been able to discuss infertility in the context of Torah that they can understand at this point. We have some friends who have not been blessed with children. My son used to ask where X's children were. Now he seems to understand that not everyone has children and that even the imahot had such tribulations. Obviously the discussion will continue for many years. But, I'm glad it has started.

I know that in Bais Yaakov schools the word adultery is not used in presenting the Aseret Hadibrot in the lower grades. Instead children are told that a Mommy and Daddy should love each other. We also did not use the word adultery, since it won't hold any meaning for their age, but while learning the aseret hadibrot, we were able to explain that something about hilchot yichud. And even at a young age, children naturally understand the natural order.

I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on introducing sensitive subjects to your children, and would like to see if you agree or disagree with me that a 10 year old being curious about sexuality is normal (within limits of course).

Better to be Supported by the Community and Welfare?

Continuing on with the Yated Readers Write regarding frum finances, check out the following. I'm not sure what to say to sum it up. Basically, this kollel wife does not want her husband to leave the confines of kollel, and is in a catch 22 because if her husband left and they lost their welfare, well. . . . . they will probably be worse off. Personally, I'm not all that sympathetic. I'm actually more sympathetic to the Rebbe's wife. At least he was willing to give earning a try. My comments are in orange.

TRYING TO MAKE END$ MEET

Dear Editor,

I was very pleased to see the financial crisis discussed in Avrohom Birnbaum’s article several weeks go and the subsequent letters to the editor on the same topic. It’s given me the push to write to you about this issue, which I’ve been wanting to do for a while.

I’d like to talk about our experience as a family in a part of the population no one has written about yet.

My husband has been learning for 12 years, not exclusively, but at least part-time. (Most of the years it was full time.) [Twelve years post marriage or post high school?]

Even when we first got married, we did not receive any regular support from either set of parents. It was simply impossible for them. Yet, we both felt strongly that the type of family we wanted to establish was based on my husband remaining in yeshiva as long as possible, and, after that, staying in the “yeshiva environment” when employment became necessary. This is not chas v’shalom to denigrate anyone who doesn’t do this; everyone has their own needs, talents and tafkid. However, for me, this was such a strong feeling that I could not bear to have it any other way (although this was not the derech that either of us grew up with in our own families).

I always pushed - no, encouraged - my husband to stay in yeshiva. He didn’t need to be pushed. He always wants to learn and feels awful on a day during bain hazemanim when he barely gets to learn because he is so busy with the kids, etc [I find this comment sad. Spending time with children, especially in today's environment, is so important. One would hope a father would welcome the opportunity to reconnect with the children. One wonders if the husband share the same feeling when he has to engage in another mitzvah that takes away from learning]. But sometimes he’d wonder if it was “time to go to work” because of parnassa. I’d tell him no, because:

a) I can’t bear to have him go into a non-yeshiva environment, [Sounds like chinuch is not even a consideration].
b) Even more than that, I know he could never manage in such an environment (he cannot bear to be exposed to the outside influences; plus, he is quiet,shy, and not a go-getter), and [My husband also. Fortunately there is work for those who like to sit at a desk in relative isolation].
C) I know that it wouldn’t help financially anyway. He’d never earn the$100,000 (now I read that it’s more like $200,000 - I’m shocked) needed to support a large family, k”ah. What would happen is that we’d lose Medicaid and Section 8 and be worse off than before, chas v’shalom. I’d rather be poor and in kollel, than just plain poor! [Perhaps there are two Torahs, and I missed out on learning the basics of the other one. Don't we learn that we should make our Shabbat like a weekday so as to not rely on the community? Don't we learn that there is dignity and work? And what about starting somewhere? So you can't envision yourself earning $100,000? So what. What if someone approached learning the same way, e.g., I will never make it through Shas, so I won't even get started?].

Boruch Hashem, we have wonderful shalom bayis, which is not affected by our finances. At the moment, we have six children, kein yirbu, ranging in age from 1 1/2 - 10. About half a year ago, my husband started doing some work in a yeshiva in the mornings, with his kollel no longer being able to pay him the relatively high salary which they had been providing. For a while, he was teaching Gemara to beginners for one seder and learning one seder, but that program ended. Our debts - especially our tuition bills – skyrocketed. [I wonder why the tuition bills skyrocketed when the husband's job ended. More children in school? Or was he receiving a significant tuition benefit for teaching one seder. Or is the writer just putting in a fact unconnected to her husband's job?]

At the moment, we weren’t doing any better than before. Boruch Hashem, we don’t have credit cards. Somehow, we knew never to start up with them. (Rabbi Birnbaum’s article really reinforced that!)

Over the summer, we had no income at all. I began work at a different school this fall, and my husband joined a different kollel in the afternoon and got a new position in a different yeshiva. B’chasdei Hashem, someone gave us a few thousand dollars that got us through the summer. Truthfully, Hashem always helps us, and we have never starved or had our electricity turned off. He always sends us some form of income to get through whatever situation arises and to provide us with what we really need. It’s like living with the monn in the midbar.

What I’d like to bring out most of all is the astronomical cost of living today and the impossibility of earning the required amounts (assuming you’re not a doctor, lawyer or high-powered businessman). [For once can we stop this assumption that doctors, lawyers, and businessman are rolling in dough. I, for one, know that the young ones, especially, are rolling in a lot of debt. And nobody thinks to give them a few thousand dollars, and they don't qualify for welfare, nor do they tend to receive much in the way of tuition breaks. I'm pulling my hair out. We are all in this boat TOGETHER: doctors, lawyers, businessmen, accountants, teachers, kolleleit, and what have you. And if you marry young and are blessed with children, especially that many children, you are going to be up to your eyeballs].

Of our six children, five are already in school. Tuition is a minimum of $3,000 each (in our community. In many other areas, that is considered a bargain!) [You bet that is a bargain. $15,000 won't even put one child into high school in some communities]. Boruch Hashem, we have help for the older girls’ tuition (3rd and 5th grade) but are left with $1,000 a month in tuition to pay. (I know that many people have to pay much more, but for me, this is my entire salary!)

That leaves the amount my husband earns from his morning yeshiva position and afternoon kollel to support 8 people. Combined, it equals a little more than 1/10 of the $200,000 figure suggested as being needed to comfortably support a family.

That is, of course, where Medicaid, food stamps, and Section 8 are so extremely helpful. We are very grateful for these programs. But they aren’t without their drawbacks. There is always a fear of chillul Hashem, and a certain amount of discomfort when you are among people who think it’s wrong to take these things. But what’s the choice? Food for our family (including diapers, etc.) is $1,200 a month [I'm sure this could be cut down a bit]. After food stamps are gone each month, we struggle to find hundreds of dollars to buy food and other necessities for the rest of the month. At present, we owe our grocery store about $3,000. Sometimes we can’t put anymore on the bill and we wonder how we will buy food. Many times, we write head-checks [I've never heard this term outside of frum circles. I believe the terminology is post-dated checks. Those who write post-dated checks should know they are responsible for the funds when they write the checks], but sometimes too many go through when we’re not expecting it, and the bank pays them but charges us $30 for each check.

We’ve lost a few hundred dollars at a shot like this, which is really depressing, because it’s money going straight into the garbage. Then, if we borrow $500 from a gemach to put into our account, it’s still basically at zero, leaving the door open for a repeat scenario. (Since we don’t have credit cards, we have no credit history and can’t get overdraft protection. But what should we do? Not buy diapers?) [Perhaps].

I have a theory that it used to be acceptable to be poor and it was kind of‘socially acceptable.’ Now it’s certainly not. For better or worse, there are societal norms, which you just have to conform to.

For example, you have to have electricity, gas and phone service (which obviously were considered luxuries 100 years ago). This costs us about $300 a month all together. The kids have to go to school, and need school supplies, uniforms and snacks. The school requests book fees, nit fees, and arts & crafts fees. My girls were supposed to bring in a total of $65 this week, between all of the them. [I think the nickle and diming parents is unacceptable. But, when you have a number of parents barely paying tuition, the schools don't have a whole lot to operate with and I think this is how some schools squeeze non-tuition dollars out of parents]. It isn’t acceptable anymore not to have money. It’s just expected that you have at least amounts like that, or $25 to tip each counselor in camp [Camp? I believe you stated that you were both out of work for the summer]. But what if you don’t? What if you have zero cash in the house, have run out of checks, and can’t afford to order more? (Never mind the chance that there won’t be money to cover the check when it goes through!) [I hear the pain, I really do. But, so many of our grandparents, great-grandparents came here with nothing and took meager wages and built small fortunes. It seems we have lost the will to take what we have and do what we must. One wonders what they would write if they were reading this today].

Kids used to go around with old clothes [Guess what, even in the frum world there are people doing around with old clothing. Chol V'Chomer in the rest of the US]. Now you’re setting kids up as social failures if they’re not dressed nicely. Of course, I do want my children to look good! [Used is not a bad word!] I’m just saying that expenses are overwhelming and there’s no getting away from them even if you don’t have the money. Boruch Hashem, our children’s school is amazing. We unfortunately owe them about $8,000, but they just sent us our admission cards without a word [Later the writer states her Bais Yaakov salary hasn't increased. I'm just commenting to connect the dots]. Yet, the approximately $20,000 of our total debt weighs on our minds a lot. Besides for the school and grocery, there are gemachs and private individuals whom we owe money to. It can be very embarrassing. [One would hope that there would be a plan in place to repay private loans].

The funny part is that you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at our kids, who are always dressed presentably, or our rented house (renovated by the landlord before we moved in), or our 2001 Astro van (gotten almost for free). Boruch Hashem, everything looks good, yet, very often, we don’t know how we are going to pay the rent, car insurance, electricity, grocery bill, etc. Bechasei Hashem, something always works out, whether it’s a loan, a gift from an anonymous person, etc. [Sometimes I wonder if things have to look bad, possibly really bad, before schooling takes the number one spot on the communal list of priorities?]

But Yated readers should know that people like us are out there. The few thousand dollars people give us before Pesach makes all the difference in the world! We even get to pay back some chovos, which makes us feel very good. I know that sometimes people wonder if we truly need it. The answer is yes, very badly.

The suggestion of one letter-writer to create subsidized food and clothing stores, and tuition solutions, would be wonderful [One wonders how much a subsidized kosher food store could shave off monthly expenses? I'd guess that if the idea got off the ground, it might not prove as helpful as one might think. I once remember reading once that the profit margin the grocery business is very low (below 15%). I don't know how profitable the kosher markets are, although we do know they regularly make interest free loans to customers. Chances are, high prices are not indicitive of a high profit margin. Learning to make the most of a limited food (stamp) budget is crucial. As for clothing, I think we need to get over our fashion sense and make due]. Our expenses are going up and up (look at the prices of gasoline, milk and cheese!), yet our yeshiva, kollel and Bais Yaakov salaries are not [I, for one, find it amazing that one can be paid to learn from some of the top Torah teachers in the world. With the exception of doctorate students in the sciences, and select athletes whose room and board costs are covered, I don't know many people being paid to be in school. Of course, I better say l'havdil before a reader thinks I don't understand the difference between kodesh and chol. But, I get frustrated hearing about kollel salaries not increasing when kollelim have clearly won out over K-12 education] . Nor, I believe, are the salaries of people otherwise employed rising as much as the cost of living is [I don't know any salaries rising as fast as tuition]. Whatever almost any of us earns is just not enough to support a large frum family today, bli ayin hara.

P.S. Despite the financial difficulties that I mentioned, I am overjoyed with my husband and children boruch Hashem, and grateful for our lifestyle and community. I wouldn’t have chosen any differently, except maybe to have started out in Eretz Yisroel! I do dream of winning the lottery, giving most of it to Lev L’Achim, Efrat,etc., and moving to Eretz Yisroel.Gemar chasimah tovah [I just hope the writer doesn't actually play the lotto].

Pouring Milk Down the Drain

This Readers Write letter in the Yated today brings back bad memories of a sour milk experience I had once involving Chalav Yisrael Milk. I can't drink the stuff any longer.

Chalav Yisrael is not something that we keep and I often wonder how big of a dent keep chalav yisrael puts in the budgets of those who keep it. Several of my friends who keep chalav yisrael do have financial issues, but for them chalav yisrael is non-negotiable. But worse yet, the chalav yisrael milk spoils quickly and ends up in the trash, frustrating its drinkers, like the one who wrote the following editorial to the Yated. If anyone has tips on maintaining the freshness of chalav yisrael milk, offer them up. Who knows, maybe it will help someone in need.

Dear Editor,

Does anybody in the Tri-State area have a solution for me? I have a problem that when I buy cholov Yisroel milk, it spoils very soon. I admit that this problem is not as serious as the shidduch crisis or the fact that so many people in our community have fallen ill, but it is a problem nonetheless. Why is it that the cholov stam milk lasts and our milk doesn’t? It’s gotten so bad that I now put one bottle of milk in the refrigerator and the rest I put in the freezer so that it won’t spoil so fast. If you pay $2.79 for one half gallon and you end up throwing out a third, the money adds up. I know that I am not the only person with this problem, because people are always returning milk to the store. What’s the solution? What are the cholov stam dairies doing differently than our Jewish companies? If anybody has any answers, I’d like to read them.Thank you.

Milkless in Monsey

And while we are talking about eliminating food waste, I will offer a few tips of my own and I really want to hear your tips (especially MominIsrael and JugglingFrogs). We have cut down on waste significantly, but I still find some and I get really sad when I have to throw out food. Any tips on keeping children's' eyes and stomachs in sync would be highly appreciated too.
1. I tend to bake smaller challah rolls. We really don't want leftover slices sitting around because nobody wants to eat them, and during the week we usually eat dairy, which renders slices left on the table during Shabbat useless. After Shabbat, I try to remember to freeze leftover whole challah rolls immediately. There are some challah reciepes that call for stale challah processed into bread crumbs. That is a great use for leftover challah if you make kugel. I can't remember the last time I made a kugel.
2. The best storage containers are clear or at least semi-clear, so you can see what is inside. I try to keep leftovers in the front of the refrigerator and jars of things we don't need all the time like pickles at the back. Newer refrigerators have clear baskets for fruit and vegetables, and although I didn't appreciate having to buy a new refrigerator, I really am glad that my produce stares at me every time I open the refrigerator.
3. Plan menus in advance so you know what perishables and produce you need on hand. I've definitely preached stocking up on super bargains. But that does not work for perishables.
4. If your produce on hand is looking sad, make a soup or a rice or grain pilaf. The base of almost any soup and pilaf includes onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil. At least for me, celery is one of the produce items that I find ends up going bad because you don't need nearly as much as you have to buy. Lately, I've been cutting down on waste by sauteing celery alongside onions for pilafs.
5. Fresh herbs are probably the most frustrating produce item for the frugal homemaker. I haven't taken to growing my own and cutting straight off the plant, but I do try to cut down on waste by planning enough side dishes calling for fresh herbs so that they can be used up entirely. If that doesn't work, you can always make a rub for chicken by grinding herbs like cilantro and parsley in a food processor along with garlic, olive oil, and spices commonly found in middle eastern cooking like cumin, paprika, coriander, and turmeric. This mixture can easily be frozen in small portions and used as a rub for grilled chicken.

Let's here your tips.

JO Review: These Are Solutions?

I got sidetracked from my Jewish Observer "Tuition Dilemma" Review, but now that Yeshiva World News has re-posted an article from that edition, I thought I would try to return to the review, at least temporarily.


At one time I had a draft on file regarding this article, but I deleted it because I couldn't hold myself back from making very rude comments in regards to assertions such as "Yeshivos have become very creative and entrepreneurial in finding ways to close their budget gaps." And "To an honest and realistic person, our school administrator knows his business very well. He has been successful in steering the ship through very choppy waters. This same executive director or administrator has become so talented at balancing the budget, his skills match those of any corporate CFO. The fact that he stays at the yeshiva is in itself real mesiras nefesh." While I don't doubt there is some stellar financial management going on, I would say this assertion is over-gratuitous. I'll hold try to hold my tongue, but we have discussed non-payment of Yeshiva employees and unsuccessful and even loosing fundraisers. Hopefully the author had something else in mind in regards to "creative and entrepreneurial ways to close the budget gap."


The main thrust of the article was to offer "solutions" to the problems of funding yeshiva educations. These "solutions" were put forward:

1. Solicit Big Money Donors.
2. Lobby for Tax Relief.
3. Lobby for Tuition Vouchers.

Oy! If this is the level of thinking that we are seeing, then I can only fear that nothing will be done to make a dent in tuition. Regarding #3, vouchers were just defeated on referendum in the State of Utah. Regarding #2, a frum family in Los Angeles already tried to deduct tuition for religious subjects, 55%, and fought their case up the latter in tax court with the backing of Agudah. They lost on appeal and in over 10 years there has been no light at the end of the tunnel. Vouchers and tax relief are just not happening (sorry to be so pessimistic and/or realistic). To put all of our eggs in this basket would be like adding a line item into the budget to buy lotto tickets weekly. I do believe we should lobby for vouchers and tax relief, but we cannot rely on a miracle and have to take a different approach.

Solution 1 is the best of the 3 that has been put forward by the author. But in my opinion there are major, major, major impediments to inspiring both major and minor donors. We have too much to support and no priorities. Kollelim and Kiruv have won out over day schools. Donors have been alienated. There is little to no financial transparency. There is duplicity and little to no unity (e.g. an Orthodox School Region/District). Donors/Parents have little control (elected boards for our regions/districts). For related reading see: Eliot Pasik (and here) and George Hanus (founder of the Superfund in Chicago).

Let's be honest. If you had millions to give, would you turn your money over? And to what school?

To be continued.

990's and Less than successful Fundraising


Fundraising with overhead, especially high overhead, drains precious resources from a community. Volunteers put a lot of time into planning events, paid employees often dedicate their own working time to planning an event, parents on "give or get" hours often trade their time for scholarship dollars, and those who donate to an event will not turn around and give again if the event is unsuccessful.

Lately, I've been building up a collection of envelopes for fundraising events and after seeing the
discussion on Hirhurim regarding fiscal accountability of charitable organizations, I figured it was time to look at the latest 990s that are available for the schools that are sending banquet invitations or offering tickets to an events, etc. (Not all organizations file 990s, but those that are available can be found at Guidestar).

Now the 990 form is not the most user friendly form in the world, nor are the numbers some schools report believable, rendering the form completely useless (although as a donor it is all I've got to go by). Fundraising dollars can be shown in different places making the actual gain or loss difficult to determine, or a schedule can co-mingled special events covering up data that would show if a fundraiser is worth its while. Needless to say, it is difficult for the reader to get a complete or even accurate picture. But being more familiar that your average Joe with the fundamentals of accounting, I believe I was able to reach some conclusions about the profitability of certain fundraisers.

One major fundraiser that a certain school puts on year after year, which uses plenty of precious resources in terms of time and overhead dollars, only managed to net $2000-$3000 during two of the last the years reported. Yet the fundraiser has become an annual event nevertheless. Now a simple rule of finance is that you don't throw perfectly good money after a loosing cause. While $2000 to $3000 might not be an actual loss, after indirect costs are considered(give or get dollars, staff time, and dollars spent/donated that will not be spent donated again) it may well be a loosing cause.

Another fundraiser I saw reported that was a definite loss was a raffle. I imagine what happened was that the prizes were paid for up front and ticket sales were estimated far too high. (Wish I knew what the prizes were. When I was asked to buy a ticket I told the kids selling the tickets I prefer to give cash). As far as I am concerned a raffle should never be run at a loss.

Now I know that mistakes will happen and that sometimes fundraisers will bomb. But one has to wonder if many of the fundraisers that are being conducted are simply not worth the effort. Perhaps "name recognition" has a indirect benefit that can't be calculated and that these fundraisers really are a success even if the numbers don't reflect that. I don't know the answers. But after seeing some low net gains and even some certain losses, I'm wondering how precious hours could be used more effectively.

Get These Hoodlums a Job

Rabbi Horowitz is circulating a petition to sign regarding the violence in Beit Shemesh. I wish him and the peaceful citizens of Beit Shemesh hatzlacha. But what is really needed is to get these "men" some jobs. If these men were at work, they simply would not have time to spray bleach, set shops ablaze, or beat people up. 'Nuff said.

Tuition Vouchers: Perhaps it is Time to Stop Dreaming

Hat Tip: Charlie Hall

Bring up Orthodox day school/yeshiva tuition in a conversation and without fail someone will suggest lobbying the government for school vouchers. Nearly every tuition feature in nearly every major Jewish publication puts forward vouchers as the elusive solution.

While I support lobbying efforts on behalf of vouchers by major Orthodox organizations and while I, a lifelong conservative, am a supporter of vouchers even where frum interests are unconcerned, I think it is time to say loud and clear, "stop dreaming." Let's not pin our hopes on a pipe dream.

I don't want to wave a white flag, but the news out of Utah, probably the most conservative state in the Union, should provide a wake up call to the Orthodox community, most of whom live in some of the most liberal states and locales, that widespread vouchers won't be coming to a location near you anytime soon (even if some frum Jews in Milwaukee have benefitted).

Read the article yourself. It is well worth your time. With over 60% voting down vouchers of between $500-$3000 in a referendum, I think it is time we start looking at other pieces of the puzzle to put a dent in the Tuition Crisis.

A Parsha Note: Do-It-Herself

We just read Chayei Sarah where of course the main event is the making of the shidduch between Yitzchak Avinu and Rivkah Imanu. A comment of the Malbim caught my eye (from the Artscroll Chumash): "Eliezer was not interested in a wealthy girl for Issac. He preferred someone of modest means, the kind who would go to draw water herself, not have servants do it for her."

Seems the Torah is trying to tell us that those with a do-it-herself personality are good marriage material.

A Job is a Job is a Job

I'm not a participant on this frum women's chat board, but occassionally I like to see what the ladies are talking about and this particular post caught my eye. It seems a husband has decided he is not fulfilled by his work and has decided to quit leaving the wife essentially up a creek. The husband has told her to cut back some more and she doesn't know where, especially since they are already neck deep in debt. The wife doesn't know what to do or what to say and is crying for help. Clearly, the ketubah requires the husband to provide for his family, but the wife didn't enter into her marriage with such an understanding put into practice from the get go, which makes the situation all that more difficult.

Another poster brought up the resistance that too many people in our communities have when it comes to taking jobs that are "below them." JS links communal financial problems and sense of entitlement with the eroding work ethic we unfortunately see around: "I was told growing up that every job had dignity, that there is a basic dignity in working. Our community also has an attitude that certain jobs are "beneath me". And it extends from the parents to the children, I know many parents who although unemployed wouldn't take certain jobs that weren't good enough or were "embarassing". And so the kids don't work because working as a check-out person in a supermarket is "embarassing", etc. If my grandmother could get down on her hands and knees and wash floors all day to build a better life for her family, I don't understand why others can't as well."

Growing up my mother used to tell me, "the primary purpose of a job is to make money. Enjoying your job is a bonus." I've lived by this motto and hope my kids will too.