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There’s a current story on YWN about a BY in Bensonhurst about to close.
We know that a girls school in Lakewood closed and the BY in Boro Park claimed to be on the verge of bankruptcy.
What the hey is going on?! Are the funds being mismanaged? Are people not paying tuition? Are the gevirim not giving to the non name brand Yeshivos?
There’s obviously a big problem. What can be done differently?
You don’t get much more name brand than BY of BP.
People don’t prioritize money for tuition.
I have already opined this in a different thread, but, I think the schools overextended themselves in the days of plenty, and now need to readjust themselves to the new economy. (much like everyone else)
“Whats the deal with Yeshiva/BY closures lately?”
Um… the recession?
Its not so much the Recession as organizations not running on sensible budgets. Recession or not if you spend more then you take in you go broke. And you can’t out earn or fundraise careless spending.
(Yes this means some hard choices are going to have to be made)
you know what the problem is? every other say another school opens or people end up travelling elsewhere. i know of a very famous yeshiva here, where they b”H have expanded tremendously in the last few years. there were 4 classes with 26 kids now they are almost double that(and thats just preschool). whats the trick? amazing rebbes and morahs and of course….FUNDRAISING! if a school is closing they could have a terrible advocate who is trying to fundraise and they dont know what they are doing. it’s all about the PR. you gotta have a good reputation, not kick kids out just cuz they spoke to the opposite gender etc. i would never send my child to a school knowing that they kick kids out for stupid reasons.
at the same time this school that is expanding is i am sure im debt. but the parents give as much as they can and if people stopped having a million kids and paid tuition on time then maybe they wouldnt be have to not pay tuition and be on time with payments. oh and actually pay teachers more money and on time!
A) This is not caused by the recession; these schools were being mismanaged for many years years before the recession, but they always managed to plug the gaps, extend credit etc. Now that we are in recession, those options don’t exist anymore. Although it took tough economic times to bring these problems to light, they were there underneath the surface for a long time beforehand.
B)WIY- they still have rent or mortgage, utilities, other staff costs, and even if the teachers don’t make that much, when you employ let’s say 75 of them, it adds up. Dinners barely make up for the cost of happening in the first place; fundraising will only get you so far, especially these days; tuition does not cover the costs.
WIY- did you read the news from the other day? The latest closure was due to owing 2 years in back rent, and it was a fairly large school. You’d also be surprised at how many places that shouldn’t carry a mortgage still have a hefty one. Unless the school has been in current location and building for a few decades, chances are, there is a large mortgage. If they’re in a fairly new building, forget it, they’re definitely still paying for it.
from what I’ve heard, BYBP built a new building because they needed the space. a large chunk of money that they thought was committed did not end up coming through which left them in a huge hole that in this economy they are having a very difficult time trying to climb out of.
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