Financial Impact of Covid-19 on Yeshivot

amother

Powderblue

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:07 pm

amother [ Denim ] wrote:

If the teachers are working - and there is money to pay them, they should be paid. What's the question? What special treatment?

.

No one is at the school answering phones, collating, making copies etc- why are they paying all the office staff?
My kids aren't having PE or other specialties like art- why do they get full salary? They usually get paid per period. They have done nothing besides sending out a list of "exercises you can do at home". That gets full paycheck for a few weeks???
One of my kids get a total of 1.5 hours a day of work- combining English and Hebrew subjects and davening. You aren't paid more your first year when you have to prepare more so why get paid more right now? And it is more because they are "producing" less per day! And it isn't that different- they scan the math worksheet into the computer and walk the kids through the problems. Where is the big prep as they aren't making those sheets!!
One kid in preschool gets less than 20 minutes. And those times including everyone saying hi. No projects sent home, 1 worksheet a day for my older kid max etc. I am paying for printing. I want to spend that money on workbooks, games, or activities for my kids!!

Hourly workers should only be paid for time they are working. I am an hourly worker and my hours were cut due to COVID so guess what? I get paid less. How can I pay tuition and teachers their FULL salary when they aren't working their full job?

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:16 pm

I’m actually curious.

All the mothers complaining about how little schooling your child is getting in exchange for your tuition money:
Would you prefer the school stop taking tuition and there be no schooling at all?

As a teacher with children at home, I can honestly tell you that I could not afford to work the amount I do (with prep and teaching and grading the work to make a sure the students actually understood my lessons it comes to around 5-6 hours a day at least) for less than my full salary. Between the many extra games and toys we’re buying to keep kids busy so I can work, and the prepared food for the nights I didn’t have time to make dinner, and the groceries from the expensive store because they’re the only ones with delivery slots left and I don’t have time to go grocery shopping.

Yes, these are luxuries that not everyone can afford, and if I wasn’t working and getting paid I couldn’t either. And I would survive without them happily, but I can’t teach without them. I see them as a replacement for paying for my babysitter, which I have only because I work.

So pick: are schools open (for whatever hours your school has) or closed.

naturalmom5

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:22 pm

avrahamama wrote:

We have been pushing even harder to pay off our tuition this year. Usually we carry a balance and it's hard. But the idea of our children's rebbe and morahs not having paychecks breaks our hearts. So it's hard and business isn't what it could be. But knowing rebbe has what to feed his children is a great consolation to us.

That being said. I'm home with the kids. And took off this year. So we don't have my income. But I'm less crazy and unhinged. Lol

Hashem should pay you back, 100 fold..

Chag Sameach

amother

Denim

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:22 pm

amother [ Cerise ] wrote:

I've answered in multiple different ways, except held short of listing every single industry or institution under the sun. If you need to have that list, just google a directory of every single economic category that exists, and you shall have that information. Alternatively, the IRS can supply that to you as well. If you can't do that yourself, I will sit down after Yom Tov and put that together for you.

And yes, I'm not paying tuition now. But I'm not redirecting any funds. There aren't funds to redirect. What's so hard to understand about that. I'm happy that I can scratch together to pay for food. If I have a few dollars left over after that, I'll give it to tomchai shabbos. Ze hu. Like I said, when the dust settles, I'll be in contact with the schools to work things out.

I didn't ask for a list of every single industry or institution under the sun. You referred to "major institutions"... seemed to me at the time you were suggesting that we start to send "major institutions" our money.

The calls to support the schools, in my estimation were to parents who have the funds to do so, and had already committed to doing so when they signed their tuition contracts.

lilies

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:25 pm

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

I haven't complained yet.
If I could pick, definitely close the school for now.
1 hour of songs, stories and some learning, nothing for preschool isn't worth much.

People are combining the issue of supporting a school through a crisis for the greater good of chinuch, and the issue of paying for a service one isn't receiving.
The former, if you can afford it - is beautiful and necessary for Yiddishkeit.
The latter, if you can afford it, is tzedaka, also beautiful and necessary.

Most can't afford to be doing any as they need food and shelter.

amother

Denim

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:31 pm

amother [ Powderblue ] wrote:

Teachers aren't hourly workers.

To answer your bolded point.

You can't pay because you don't have the funds to pay. them working their "full job" doesn't change your ability to pay tuition.

amother

Seashell

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 2:54 pm

avrahamama wrote:

Kol hakovod to you that you are paying off tuition even more than usual, but realize that you are in a unique situation were you have no income yet are aggressively paying.

For many, the math doesn't work out.

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 3:44 pm

amother [ Cerise ] wrote:

Are you still receiving some form of teaching from your school? If so anything extra you can make should go to the school not tomchei shabbos. You shouldn’t be giving donations if you’re still receiving a service you’re not paying for.

amother

Black

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 4:00 pm

Most of these posts don't address the larger issue - what is going to happen to institutions that have relied to some extent on economic prosperity in the Frum community.

Many people will emerge from this with major financial issues. Many people have been out of work; landlords have tenants who having been unable to pay rent; people have had the value of their assets/retirement funds/homes decimated.

There will be many people who were able to afford certain things which will now be impossible. Those who were able to pay full tuition will now require some form of assistance. Others might find it simply unaffordable even with tuition breaks.

Most instituions rely to some extent on donations and many donors - large and small - no longer have the funds to give as they were able to do in the past. Not to mention that the need by people for help with food and shelter and other needs will be greater.

In the scheme of things tuition for May and June is relatively trivial. Not to minimize an individual's issues with payment for those months but I think there Ould be long term financial issues for the institutions between so many more parents not being able to afford what they previously paid and sources of donations decreasing.

amother

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 4:52 pm

Unusual times call for unusual actions. I appreciate the dedication of the teachers at my school but if the system does not work and teachers can't effectively do their jobs, keeping the school open is not in the best interest of the students nor the parents.

True that teachers may be working more hours but so are parents who have taken on more of a teaching role than before potentially combined with working from home (if they are fortunate enough to still be employed). If I could effectively teach my children at home I would just home school them. Now I am both paying for someone to try and teach my children remotely and I am home schooling them.

I would prefer schools cancel the remainder of the school year, credit parents and apply it to an extended school year when able to open again. I would even be OK trying one of the online yeshivot in the interim having to believe that the best online yeshiva can provide the same level of education as a brick and mortar school with effectively near zero experience with distance learning

amother

Denim

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 5:09 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I wonder if closing school for the rest of the school year is actually an option. Seems to me it would be putting parents at risk for not having their children attending school.

amother

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 5:26 pm

amother [ Denim ] wrote:

I wonder if closing school for the rest of the school year is actually an option. Seems to me it would be putting parents at risk for not having their children attending school.

Each school would have to decide if closing for the remainder of the year is an option. If not it is a moot point and parents will have deal with paying full price for a potentially sub-par education.

If it is an option, remote learning could move to online yeshivot that are operating on a business as usual basis and providing the same level of education as they had before the pandemic.

If an online yeshiva can provide a better education than a brick and mortar school operating remotely it seems like a valid option -- even if there was no price difference.

Of course this leads to another debate: can an online yeshiva provide the same quality education as a poorly run distance learning program operated by a traditional yeshiva?

amother

Scarlet

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 5:36 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It’s not so simple to say shut the normal schools and let our kids just join in the online yeshivas that are better at online learning. Not every school has the same curriculum or is at the same place in it. You can’t just drop your kids who was in the middle of learning multiplication into an online class halfway though division without a lot of catch up.
If your child’s school focused on the story in Chumash, he’ll be very behind the skills based class online. Etc.

amother

Coral

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 5:37 pm

Children need to be enrolled in schools or have formal documented homeschooling in order to pass current grades, receive diplomas, etc. You can check your state laws but this is probably government-mandated. You can’t just say, “I don’t like what they’re providing, just shut it down for the year altogether.” You need to offer a constructive solution that is actually compliant with government schooling standards.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Apr 14 2020, 7:12 pm

Just as an FYI, office staff is still working in the schools I know. You have no idea what needs to be dealt with, despite the kids not being in school.

And the assumption that SBA will save schools is overly optimistic. It's flooded with applications, there's no guarantee, not all schools qualify, etc

I'm not singling out schools compared to anything else, I'm just pointing out why they're still in need of our tuition, perhaps even more so now.

Of course, if an individual family has social financial hardships more than they did when tuition was assessed, they should reach out to the school. That's not a contradiction.

mommy3b2c

Fri, Apr 17 2020, 1:02 am

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

I actually would much prefer no tuition and no school. In fact, I am paying tuition and I would still rather no school. Dealing with all the conference calls is stressing me out. My kids aren’t learning anything anyway.

amother

Pewter

Fri, Apr 17 2020, 1:07 am

amother [ Coral ] wrote:

I feel like enrolling my kids in PS and having them actaully learn things over Zoom. I'll teach them kodesh in the afternoon, more than their phone conference would do anyway.