No Politician Cares About Funding Private Schools

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This piece was originally published in The Jewish Press on January 18, 2012.

There are two types of politicians who we encounter when we are advocating to relieve our community’s tuition burden through the use of government funding – those who claim they are a 100% behind us and those who claim they are 100% against us.  What’s funny is that neither category of politician seems to understand what 100% means.

The 100% politicians who are against us are adamant that no dollar should be spent for private school, since they argue that it takes away money from the public schools and it’s unconstitutional. It certainly is constitutional, and we at the OU are happy to share a wide variety of opinions and Amicus briefs on that matter, but this argument stems from a politician’s desire to not even think about this issue. As for the detriment to public schools, even if we show them that a tax credit program is often built with triggers to save the state money, this doesn’t appease such a politician.  As a community, we support the attainment of excellent educational opportunities – both private and public – for all.

These politicians, though, have an antiquated view on our community’s requests and believe that we are only going after vouchers which, in their view, will eventually close down all public schools. Vouchers obviously won’t close down public schools – even charter schools didn’t wipe public schools off the map.  These types of politicians require a laundry list of other issues important to Jewish education, which don’t scream voucher and they could support. When we have engaged such politicians on special education they can’t deny that such an expenditure is worthwhile. When we have engaged them on safety for our children they obviously can’t say no to such a request. When we have asked them for even the most basic requests, textbooks (even used!) their original stone-cold opposition has melted.

The 100% politicians who are for everything we do are surprisingly not that different. I met last year with two different political leaders in state legislatures who are pro-private school funding on paper, on the campaign trail, and in nearly every speech…except in the actual requests we made to them regarding sponsoring or supporting voucher or tax credit funding. Both politicians froze when asked specific details of their support, which they had never actually expected anyone to ask them, and quickly created a variety of excuses for why they couldn’t support our proposals due to other people or other factors in their political caucus.

Politicians such as these get by for many years by flashing their ideological credentials and never expecting anyone to call them out on what they’ve actually done for our community or what they plan on doing in the near future.  When we have remained in contact with these politicians, demanded specifics, and forced many more voices to ask the same questions then they have acted.

Both types of 100% politicians are of zero use to Jewish education if they are not properly engaged. Those that choose to be completely against us we need to show them why we agree on many things and although there is opposition in some cases there are opportunities for support in many others. Those that choose to be completely for us must be moved beyond lip service to something substantive, which impacts our community and turns them from a talking head to an actual champion.

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  • Anonymous

    There was a great educator named Horace Mann who lived in the mid-19th century.  He was a radical because he advocated public education.  Until then only the children of the well-off were educated.  150+ years later, schools are no longer held to the highest standards although some states do better than others.  California, once the crown jewels of education now hangs-out with Mississippi so to speak.  The reason that there is poor support of private education is that many think that well-off people can afford them.  To make matters worse, many districts of top heavy and overall, we are in a financial crisis that robs great public schools and makes them good; and good schools and makes them average and average schools and makes them poor.

    The problems with Jewish education are many.  (They include the lack of a curriculum that the great modern rabbis as recently as the late Noach Weinberg and the the living Berel Wein sought and gained.  They were both highly educated men in religious and secular cultures.  This is encouraged today not so much; to the detriment of frum Jewish society [and the world].) Today, religious families still want to send their children to private school.  The current problem is that the cost is getting quite high. ” If you can’t afford USC go to UCLA.” but that also is getting out of the reach of many very bright children; so they’re going to community college to see if they can get a scholarship.  Scholarships should be set up for religious schools; but because the orientation and needs are so different, that they cannot be based so much upon scholarship but need to know.  No politician cares for good reason; public schools are underfunded.  What’s more, how could anyone forget the Catholics, the Protestants, the Waldorf Schools, Zen, shmen?  You get it.

    It is up to the most wealthy and most clever and brilliant of the religious Jewish Community to find the money for their children; so that families can partner with wealthy benefactors in providing a Jewish education, tradition and identity.  No politician is going to undermine public education, its been all but destroyed in the decades since I graduated and then paid for private education through my own work, my dad and my uncle.  So for all your bleating needs, here’s a belief for you; reality.  Start organizing and find your way to foundations and wealthy individuals and please don’t think that “politicians” think that your kid is a special as you do.