School Days and Mystery Grant

Dear Nieces and Nephews

Off course you remember the Mystery Grant awarded to the Village of Kiryas Joel, the one where the Village received about 2 Million dollars for road improvements. The grant was sponsored by “REP CONFERENCE” with no specific senator listed.

And we think we know why.

Amid all the smoke and mirrors of the budget process, there was one Senator who kidnapped the process with his demands: Senator Simcha Felder D/R Brooklyn. He wanted to release Hasidic Yeshivas from the NYS Education Department minimum standards for the curriculum, required of ALL schools in NY! (Public, Private and Home Schooling).

“Now Felder is trying to force a rewrite of state law to effectively exempt yeshivas even from these barest requirements by letting them self-certify that they are complying.”

https://dailynews.news/say-no-to-simcha-felder-cannot-take-albany-hostage/ 

Even though the Senator is from Brooklyn, you must remember that the effects of changes in the Education Law would be seen Statewide and would impact us locally in Orange County because of the high number of Hasidic children enrolled in Yeshivas. And the oversight that these Hasidic Yeshivas realize currently is minimal at best. (When have you heard that the District Superintendent of Monroe- Woodbury visited the yeshivas? When has the local Board of Ed held a public meeting regarding equivalency??? Hmmn?)

 

In the THR on Saturday, Joel Petlin Superintendent of a KJ district “…that serves Special Education students in the hasidic community, said Friday that his understanding was that Felder wanted the budget to add a clarification of what constitutes “equivalency” in courses that private schools offer, not an exemption for ultra-orthodox yeshivas from that requirement” “I think that all superintendents in NY would appreciate some guidance on that” (Petlin)  

   

Joel Petlin, you are the Superintendent of a NYS school district and you are unfamiliar with NYS Education Law and NYSED.gov where EQUIVALENCY is CLEARLY defined? If so, Shame on You!!! You may find the information at: “Article 65, Part 1: Compulsory Education Section 3204: Instruction required” http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/lawssrch.cgi?NVLWO: and

“Guidelines for Determining Equivalency of Instruction in Nonpublic Schools” at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/nonpub/guidelinesequivofinstruction.html#top 

Also in the THR article, a Brooklyn Satmar activist speaks of the State interfering in private schools and is quoted as “ …the State shouldn’t try to regulate them (Hasidic Yeshivas)! Period!”  

Question for Mr Schlesinger, the activist: Do you still expect public funding for transportation (buses) to get the children to the yeshivas? That could be seen as regulating the time period that children must attend school. Just a thought.

 

Here’s why this is a problem, without getting into the legal arguments:

   

www.yaffed.org 

No English, no Math, no Science, no History!

You would think that the leadership in Kiryas Joel would want to do better for their people.

“Elected as a Democrat who warned he might caucus with the Republicans, Felder is now the crucial vote that makes the GOP the state Senate majority. And with the chamber’s Independent Democrats joining with mainstream Dems in many budget votes, he moved to charge a special price for not gumming up the works.” https://nypost.com/2018/03/30/a-shameful-drive-to-keep-jewish-children-ignorant/ 

  

On Monday, Sen. Simcha Felder prompted a blow-up in talks when he pushed for an exemption from curriculum requirements. | AP Photo/Hans Pennink https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2018/03/29/with-budget-stalled-felder-pushes-moratorium-for-yeshivas-337723   

Remember, the village has the distinction of being the poorest community:

“And, yet, officially, at least, none of the nation’s 3,700 villages, towns or cities with more than 10,000 people has a higher proportion of its population living in poverty than Kiryas Joel, N.Y., a community of mostly garden apartments and town houses 50 miles northwest of New York City in suburban Orange County.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/nyregion/kiryas-joel-a-village-with-the-numbers-not-the-image-of-the-poorest-place.html 

(Side note: The reporters from the NY Times really should get out of the city more if they are going to report on Statewide issues.)

Suggestion: check on Senators Bonacic and Larkin regarding their stance on this issue. Fun!

And on a final note. after reading the reports “summarizing” the budget, there are no details on the (Hasidic) yeshivas and whether or not they must meet state education requirements:

https://m.timesunion.com/state/article/State-budget-details-reaction-12796043.php?utm_campaign=email-mobile&utm_source=CMS%20Sharing%20Button&utm_medium=social

“Skoufis also raised significant concern with an 11th-hour proposal pushed by the state Senate Majority – and opposed by the State Education Department – to shield some private schools from oversight of learning standards. The state Senate Majority held the entire budget hostage on this issue, threatening a government shutdown. Because the final language that was adopted is ambiguous, there may be significant differences of interpretation Thosby stakeholders, potentially jeopardizing the State Education Department’s efforts on this matter.”

Assemblyman James Skoufis press release March 31^st 2018 

Oh yes, Back to the Mystery Grant for KIryas Joel road improvements. While it has NOT been verified by “Auntie” standards (Usually, we triple check at a MINIMUM!) we have heard from a good source that the senator who sponsored the Mystery Grant was none other than SENATOR SIMCHA FELDER!!! REP CONFERENCE!!!

Those Good Ol’ Boy Republicans must be desperate. Wouldn’t it be interesting if someone like Assemblyman Skoufis was elected to the NYS Senate?  Senate heads would be spinning like they were ready to expel pea soup.

Now that would be funny!