Yeshiva Sanity: Yavneh Freezes Tuition (except for additional $250 security fee)

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Yavneh Freezes Tuition (except for additional $250 security fee)

Yavneh Academy - ישיבת יבנה

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I am writing to report that Yavneh Academy’s Board has approved the budget for the upcoming 2013-14 fiscal year.

As a result of hard work and cooperation by Rabbi Knapp, Joel Kirschner, our Finance committee and its Chair; Adam Fried, we have once again struck the right balance between educational excellence and affordability.

In recent years, Yavneh has led the community effort to reign in spiraling tuition costs. Yavneh broke historic ground by being the first local Yeshiva Day School to cut tuition in 2011. Last year, we instituted a significant cut in Early Childhood tuition, a more modest cut for K-5, and a tuition freeze for grades 6-8.

We are pleased to announce that there will be no tuition increase for 2013-14. The tuition freeze will be school wide.

We were able to achieve this, not only because of our fiscal responsibility, but because of a robust increase in our projected enrollment for next year, despite the expanded number of Jewish educational options in our growing community.

Events of the past year have unfortunately reminded us that we must always be vigilant when it comes to the safety of our children. As such, we are instituting a $250 security fee per family. This fee is reflective of the times in which we live. This money will be specifically earmarked for staffing and technological and capital enhancements that will further ensure the safety of our students and will enable us to work cooperatively with our recently formed Security Committee in continuing to safeguard our children's security and well being

Great things are happening at Yavneh, and I encourage you to get involved in your children’s school, not only for their benefit, but for the benefit of generations to come. We look forward to seeing you at Yavneh’s annual meeting on May 6th.

Eric Fremed

President, Yavneh Academy

Comments (28)

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Teaneck · 621 weeks ago

With higher enrollment, I would hope the trend continues. Unfortunately, a tuition freeze is still expensive for many folks in town.

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GUEST 3 · 621 weeks ago

It is not a "freeze" if they pass on a new fee. Call it what you want, they raised tuition.

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guest · 621 weeks ago

why don't you all just attend Teaneck Public Schools as a group and then institute a community wide after school learning program - the after school would still cost but nothing like Yeshiva tuition and you'd get the best of public education with the security of a shabbat observant group of students?

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Guest2 · 621 weeks ago

Yavneh loves to publicly state that their tuition is $13K or that they haven't raised "tuition". What they've done this year allows them to still publicly state that but it is actually deceiving everyone by adding yet another extra fee. As a parent in grade 1-5, I will now have 6 line items totaling $16,341.67 ($13,100 tuition, $750 registration, $250 Security Fee, $775 Family Obligation, $300 YES Program and $1,166.67 Building Fund). Parents in grades6-8 pay an extra $775 tuition. Any Yavneh staff/board/parent that says tuition is $13K instead of the $16K-$17K is just lying through their teeth.
He'Atid is $9,000 all in amd it's one line item. Why can't the other schools show it the same way? After all, it's all tuition.....

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High School Dad · 621 weeks ago

HeAtid has virtually every child returning next year. They are keeping tuition at $9k and parents seem happy. ANyone who can send to HeAtid no longer has any right to bitch about the high cost of yeshiva tuition.

3 replies · active 537 weeks ago

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Buster · 621 weeks ago

lame arguments...... same as saying "anyone who can send to public school no longer has a right to bitch about the high cost of yeshiva tuition"

its apples to oranges for both.

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Avi Greengart · 621 weeks ago

Why not extend that argument to all elementary school parents? JFS is $9200 next year for Bergen County families, it covers K - 8 and door-to-door transportation is included.

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guest · 537 weeks ago

JFS is a failing school where test scores are scarcely competitive with local public schools (which are pretty bad). Half of 8th graders were told not to take the BJEs because their scores would jeopardize high school admission. Add to that a principal embroiled in the YU sex abuse scandal, a non-existent board of directors, and rejects from Brooklyn being bused in to prop up enrollment (due to flight of locals) it's amazing they can even give it away for free!

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High School Dad · 621 weeks ago

Thats an absurd statement. HeAtid is every much a Yeshiva as the other legacy schools.

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Buster · 621 weeks ago

1) they offer a different product
2) is not suited for every child

even heatid claims these things.....

comparing heatid to the other yeshiva's is like comparing apples to oranges.

would you compare a yeshiva kentana to a day school?

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High School Dad · 621 weeks ago

"would you compare a yeshiva kentana to a day school?"

If I couldn't afford it, absolutely! You have no right to demand something specific while taking charity for it or complaining about the high cost.

9 replies · active 620 weeks ago

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S.P. · 621 weeks ago

Buster - are you saying that Moriah, YNJ, Noam and BPY can serve every child?

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Realist · 621 weeks ago

Hate to break it to you, but all students attending He'atid are taking charity as well. He'atid is running off a subsidized model and they are spreading the costs more to the overall community, as opposed to more directly to the parents as tuition.

The more they claim they are the "cheaper" school the more money they raise. Will be interesting to see how this pans out long-term.

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GUEST 3 · 621 weeks ago

How is that? Every Jewish institution fundraises! Howw is HeAtid any different?

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Realist · 620 weeks ago

Yes, everyone does fundraise, but Heatid fundraises based on the claim that they are going to offer a more affordable and sustainable model. In the last year or so this has led to huge donations, greater than any other "legacy" school has brought in.

They will need to keep up this level of fundraising to keep the tuition low. Do you think major donors will continue to provide money to a model that is claimed to be sustainable, but needs to continuously rely on large outside donations to keep the doors open and the tuition low?

Hate to say this, but the current setup is a ponzi scheme that will all come crashing down unless something change (e.g., they receive a huge perpetual endowment, parents put in more money as "donations" or more money as tuition).

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Buster · 620 weeks ago

well said

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GUEST 3 · 620 weeks ago

Every school, legacy or otherwise, needs to rely on major donors to keep their tuition where it is. I do not get your point.

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Buster · 620 weeks ago

The point is the other schools are not claiming to have a cheaper better model that solves the tuition crisis. Heatid is. In reality the model is not solving anything . Tremendous donations are just artificially lowering the actual price the parents are paying. The actual cost to educate the child isn't that much lower.

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GUEST 3 · 620 weeks ago

Do you have proof that HeAtid is getting more in donations then any other school?

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Buster · 620 weeks ago

I am pretty sure their fundraising mailing said they needed to raise $200,000 more to reach their goal of $1.5 million.

$1.5 million spread over 116 kids is over $12,000 a student.....

I'm pretty sure the other schools are not pulling in in excess of $10 million a year towards operational expenses (excluding capitol campaigns).

Not sure where their AJE, AviChai and OU grants fall in here either.....

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GUEST 3 · 621 weeks ago

Does anyone here know what Yavneh's maximum threshold is for getting a scholarship?

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250kChump · 621 weeks ago

Based on Moriah's abatement numbers, you can get a scholarship even if you make more than $200k!

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Enough Days off · 621 weeks ago

Moriah is very generous with their abatements - I wish the other schools did it. It's basically a sliding scale tuition schedule - and none of the shame or embarrasment of asking for scholarship. I wish all the schools offered it. At least Moriah realizes that $200K is not enough family income to pay 4 tuitions!

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GUEST 3 · 621 weeks ago

WOW! I had no idea about moriah's abatement numbers! I wish Yavneh did that.

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GUEST 3 · 621 weeks ago

I heard that Yavneh sent out a pretty strict scholarship letter . Does any one have a copy of it?

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Just Saying · 620 weeks ago

There is a very robust discussion on the PEJE blog around cost savings (or not) from blended learning. Worth checking out www.peje.org/blog/?p=2066

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Dan · 620 weeks ago

Regarding Yavneh's strict scholarship letter: It baslically said that if you had any of the following significant expenses you wouldn't be getting any financial aid:
1) Wedding; 2) Bar/Bat Mitzvah; 3) Vacation; 4) Home improvement; 5) Retirement Contribution. I don't have a problem with the first 4, but the notion (and this was explicitly stated), that if you contribute to a retirement fund that would disqualify you is at some level absurd, especially given the prevelance of employer matching contributions.

1 reply · active 619 weeks ago

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GUEST 3 · 619 weeks ago

It also reduced scholarships by another 4%.

I have no problem with taking into account retirement contributions. There are plenty of people who do not put away any money for retirement yet pay full price for tution.

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