Albany, NY – Despite concerns that yeshivos and other nonpublic schools in New York State would be shut out of funding this coming year under the state’s Comprehensive Attendance Policy program, it now appears that significant CAP funding will be made available after all.
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Reports from reliable sources indicate, says Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, Agudath Israel of America’s vice president for community affairs, that the key parties to the soon-to-be-concluded budget egotiations in Albany — Governor David Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — have tentatively agreed to allocate $30 million to reimburse nonpublic schools for the costs they incurred in complying with the state’s CAP mandate.
The $30 million — of which nearly 27%, or approximately $8 million, should be for Jewish schools across the state — is considerably less than the estimated actual costs of nonpublic school compliance with the CAP mandate. According to an objective formula developed by the State Education Department, the correct figure should be approximately $55 million. In a sense, therefore, the report that only $30 million will be allocated for these purposes is disappointing news for the nonpublic school community.
However, says Rabbi Lefkowitz, “given the harsh fiscal realities of the times, the latest news from Albany must be seen as a significant victory for our yeshivos and other nonpublic schools.”
Indeed, the Agudath Israel leader noted, the New York State Division of the Budget’s initial proposal for the coming fiscal year would have done away entirely with the CAP mandate and nullified the state’s obligation to make any reimbursement for the nonpublic schools’ costs of complying with the mandate. Subsequently, however, following intensive efforts by Agudath Israel and other nonpublic school advocacy groups, the Governor himself, who has shown concern for the non-public school community, in his revised budget proposal, acknowledged the need for the CAP mandate’s ongoing viability and the state’s obligation to provide reimbursement – but left the matter to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith , who is also supportive of the non-public school community, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has not only demonstrated commitment to nonpublic schools but was in fact was the first legislator to include funds in the budget for CAP several years ago.
Agudath Israel and the other nonpublic school advocates — including the New York State Catholic Conference and Teach NYS — spent the past several months pressing the legislature and the Governor’s office to include meaningful CAP funding in the final version of the budget. Despite
protestations that there was simply no money available for such funding in this year’s budget, the advocates persisted – Rabbi Lefkowitz himself spent many days in Albany pressing the point — and it now appears that their efforts have paid off.
“True, $30 million is not $55 million,” says the Agudath Israel representative, “but it is still a meaningful amount and, without question, quite an achievement in these difficult economic times. We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Governor Paterson, Majority Leader Smith and Speaker Silver for their foresight and leadership on this vital issue.”
I wonder if NYS polices its funding program to make sure that yeshivos that allow students to do only religious studies aren’t drinking at the public trough? In Crown Heights, Ohelei Torah offers no secular studies at all, even to its students of mandatory school attendance age. Other yeshivos allow their students to quietly opt out of secular studies. The taxpayer shouldn’t have to subsidise rank sectarianism!
teach ny had nothing to do with this restoration. It was Rabbi Lefkowitz and the Ostreichers.
What this tells me is that the “reimbursement” for CAP is set too high; the program itself is a revenue source.
If it were actually a reimbursement for expenses, then there would be no difference between “no mandate, no reimbursement” and “mandate, reimbursement”.
what is important is that, there is no more star rebate in the new budget, and it will cost you another $1700- 2000 in school tax this year. The people that urged you to call the governor for the cap program, don’t pay real estate tax anyways. Their houses are on a congregations name. and you were foolish enough to listen to them and cause every frum family to pay another $1700 -2000this year in real estate tax.
Yeshivos and other private schools are being shortchanged by the city,state and federal government.
THE COMMUNITY KNOWS THAS THIS A PUBLIC RELATION STUNT FROM AGUDA TO DEFLECT ON THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE LAW EXTENDING THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS ON SEX ABUSEON CHILDREN. THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. IT IS A SAD DAY FOR KLAL YISROEAL
Another popular blog gives all the credit to teach-ny for getting the CAP program restored, I just want to clarify that teach ny’s director pays that blog to carry his radio show and therefore they have aconflict of interest and need to take their press release. The aguda on the other hand has been on the front lines lobbying federal, state and city governments since they were established, and reliable sources in albany confirm that teach-ny and its director were hardly seen thru-out this legeslative session, where r’ shmuel lefkowitz is there EVERY week lobbying. the legislative leaders DESPISE the director of ny-teach that oganization can only harm not help. r’ shemuel lefkowitz is liked and admired by the governor, assembly and senate leadership as well as their members.
The director of ny-teach has been taking credit for last year’s $600 tax credit as well, when he was busy in albany lobbying AGAINST that credit. All these facts can easily be checked.
I’m not an aguda fan but what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong and needs to be said.
If the ny-teach director is creating all these lies to PREPARE to run for office what is he going to lie about if G-D forbid he ever does get ino elected office.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS BEWARE…..
reply to #6
Shame on you, you shvantz!