MONTREAL — The 68-year-old Rabbinical College of Canada (RCC), the Lubavitcher yeshiva, has launched an “emergency” campaign because it is facing a financial crisis.
The school delayed payment of salaries to its approximately 60 teachers as a result of its cash-flow problems, administrator Linda Rosenblum acknowledged.
She said $600,000 is needed to get out of the current crunch.
Montreal Tomchei Temimim in Financial Crisis
MONTREAL — The 68-year-old Rabbinical College of Canada (RCC), the Lubavitcher yeshiva, has launched an “emergency” campaign because it is facing a financial crisis.
The school delayed payment of salaries to its approximately 60 teachers as a result of its cash-flow problems, administrator Linda Rosenblum acknowledged.
She said $600,000 is needed to get out of the current crunch.
A combination of factors explains the school’s situation, including the economic downturn, Rosenblum said. Some of the RCC’s traditional supporters have curtailed their donations.
But a turning point was the addition of a third floor two years ago to accommodate growing enrolment.
A million-dollar gift was received for the project, but construction ultimately cost $2.5 million, she said, and the school took out a mortgage.
The extra space has meant more staff and greater overhead, such as for heating and electricity, she pointed out.
The school has seen a steady rise in the number of students because the Lubavitch community has a high birthrate and, despite the expansion, the school is still short of space.
It now serves close to 400 boys from pre-kindergarten through high school.
Higher enrolment, however, doesn’t mean higher revenue. The contrary is true, she said.
The school accepts all students, regardless of their families’ ability to pay, and most are not paying full tuition.
“This is a poor community, with one parent and sometimes, unfortunately, no parent working,” she said.
The current annual tuition fee is $5,200, but the average amount families pay is between $2,000 and $3,000, she said. The cost of educating a child is about $8,000 a year.
Rosenblum said response to the appeal for funds has so far been tepid.
“We’ve had some phone calls, and people have sent small cheques, but that is not going to solve the problem.”
As for meeting the payroll, Rosenblum said last week, “We’re working on it… These things happen sometimes, but we have never not paid our teachers.”
The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer, who fled Poland for Shanghai and then Japan, and brought with him to Canada nine of his students.
The school has been located on its current site on Westbury Avenue since the early 1960s.
eli
maybe they should continue to scream and blame that lady like they did.
Yosy
As a proud member of Montreal anash, I hope the yeshiva fall apart and closes. Then maybe we will get a decent administration who fires the old, inept staff and hires some good mechanchim.
former applicant
If you guys would have accepted me when I was a bochur, MAYBE just MAYBE, I would give a dang.
Be careful of who you might need in the future…
This goes out to ALL the mosdos and institutions out there!
yeshiva!
Close the Yeshiva for a few months, clean it B’Gashmius UB’ruchnius and reopen it with completely new staff (trained staff) then you’ll see a huge difference
Hatzlacha!
happy
people should stop puting their heads up in the air in that ZOO and maybe i will send money.
Again? and again! AND AGAIN!!
oy vay! again! didn’t this just happen also a couple of months ago when they called an “emergency meeting” of all anash? what happened then? any out come?
also the school was founded by the frierdiker rebbe, who sent his shluchim – one of them being rabbi kramer – to montreal.
curious
so are they regreting the 3rd floor addition?
mike old timer
the bigger crisis is whats happening to the kids learning. but that noone wants to here.and the teachers not getting payed is just out right wrong.
Fed Up
Cost of education per child is $8,000. The average parent is paying between $2,000 and $3,000. Even if each one pays $3000, that’s still $5,000 short. Multiply that by 400 children, and you get a deficit of $2M per year, new floor or not. I’m no accountant, but if you’re spending more than you’re bringing in, STARTING with a deficit of $2M/yr, your business, school, or organization is going to fail quickly. Maybe instead of “emergency” fund-raisers every 4 months, it’s time to get an administration that can run the place without drowning it. Just because someone’s a Rabbi and well respected doesn’t mean they know jack squat about staying out of debt.
to fix
The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer, who fled Poland for Shanghai and then Japan, and brought with him to Canada nine of his students.
They were students of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe not of Rabbi Leib Kramer.
Yehuda
The yeshiva was founded by the Frediker Rebbe who instructed the 9 shluchim that he sent there to establish the yeshiva. It was not only Rabbi Kramer.
Rabbi Kramer ended up being the director of the place but the setting up of the school was done by all nine shluchim who all played an integral role for many years.
montrealer
to FED UP:
Just to add one detail- i dont think the Rebbis pay tuition for their sons so there goes another few 8000 deficits.
on a different note
Besides the School problem, maybe the community should invest in programs that would offer/train the unemployed/underpaid parents, and find them jobs (besides going to TAV)….
a mother
I am someone who grew up in this community and went to bais rivkah all my life. when i met my husband, who went to Yeshivah Lubavitch he hardly knew how to read and write English. no wonder they are getting shut down.
my sons will go to Hebrew academy, even though it is not the rebbe’s school, because i know that A) there’s no risk of them shutting down every six months. B) they’s walk away with a proper education.
montreal resident
The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer, and for the 50 years that he wa sin charge he never missed one payment of the teachers. they need to get rid of this board and start all over again with normal people like rabbi kramer
to yehudah
you obviously have no clue what you are talking about, 9 students came to montreal and they all had different jobs. they didnt all do the same job. rabbi kramer became director of the school as rabbi hendel became rov and others just became teachers. they didnt all do the same jobs!!
Rabbi kramer started the boys yeshiva the beis rivkah and camp emunah.
lalala
so what every yeshiva has depts and much more them montreal so whats the big deal here. p.s that place need help and its not money.
old montrealer
u all don’t know what you’re talking about.to try to clear this up…rabbi kramer came to mtl. in 1941,with 8 other bochurim.chosen by the frierdike rebbe to open up t.t.t. together as a gtoup..rabbi kramer was not the founder,he was put in charge of fundraising..in other words menahel gashmi…and by the way,he sure missed out on payments for the teachers…he sure was late in paying them..and by the way.there are 11 checks that are still outstanding…………..that were not payed yet..when will that be..in oilom habo!!!..and yes the melamdim don’t pay for their sons…is there a problem with that..too bad, every job comes with its benefits..this one comes with this…some body that works with air canada or the like will get free plane tickets for his whole family leoilom voed..forever, as long as he is working there,or the like in any other place..it’s just too bad..that’s how it is…
from fellow montrealer, to a mother-
some insider advice- approx. 90% of hebrew academy montreal high school students are on drugs, so lets not kid ourselves or be another one of those parents completely oblivious to what’s going on- sending your child to a modern school is setting him up for failure and depriving him of the tools to combat negative influences.
yoidea sefer
there are rumors that the beis medrash’s situation is also very bad. the melamdin are owed EACH btw $35,000- $50,000!!! and sha shtil…
They are at fualt
If you people would have been following the *news reports out of Montréal in 2006 you would under stand a big part of the problem which is that the government cut off funding as of last school year (if I’m not mistaken)Because the yeshiva won’t offer a higher education / French to their students I think that especially in this troubled economy that every yeshiva has an obligation to offer a higher education program so all yeshiva students will have a chance to make it in life if they decide to be something other then a Rabbi
P.S. they had 2 and a half years to fix their system in order for the goverments help
*Here is that news report I was talking about
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Committee To Look Into Chassidic Schools
Friday, October 27th, 2006
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – Charley Levy, the executive director of the Association of Jewish Day Schools, has been appointed to a Quebec government committee formed to study children from minority groups within the province’s school system.
It’s expected that one of the issues the consultative body will examine is chassidic schools that are operating without a permit and whose students are not being taught the province’s mandatory curriculum.
Advertisement:
Levy said that the education ministry has told him of three schools that are allegedly not obeying the law: the secondary schools for boys operated by the Skver and Belzer communities, and the Rabbinical College of Canada’s high school, which is under Lubavitch auspices. They have a total of about 400 students, he said.
Not only are these schools unlicensed, they are not following the Regime Pedagogique. The Education Act stipulates that all children in Quebec from six to 16 years of age must be in a legal school program and taught the mandatory curriculum. This applies equally to schools receiving government funding or not, and to children who are home-schooled.
At the three schools in question, high school-age boys concentrate on religious studies.
to yehuda
NOT camp Emuna you mean PARDAS CHANA!!
ANGRY MONTREAL MOM.
To old montrealer: Firstly, if someone works in Air Canada, they DO NOT get free airline tickets. They pay 50% off the ticketed price (my sister works there).
The Rebbes were getting paid until this emergency problem over all these years, well they should have been paying some kind of tuition for their boys, but instead they got a free ride. The rest of us, who are by the way paying FULL TUITION are suffering because our sons go to this school, where they will not learn to read and write (except in Yiddish). So here we are, raising these boys who will not be able to get normal jobs due to their inability to read or write English or French. The whole generation of people who’s sons are now in Yeshiva, also went to Yeshiva and obviously have no jobs because they were not taught to read and write, and cannot afford to pay tuition. It is a vicious circle. Why don’t you guys get off your high horses, and give these boys an education which can lead them to successful jobs such as lawyers, doctors and accountants,…so that they will be able to pay tuition for their kids.
How sad that kids who graduate Lubavitch Yeshiva cannot read. They drive to New York to go to the Ohel and will not be able to read the dang signs on the road. If they get lost, they can end up in Harlem and still not know how to get home because THEY CANNOT READ. Wake up people this is not Russia. You need to give your kids tools to succeed in life. Without the tools, our kids will end up exactly where you guys are. Unemployed and unable to pay for your kids tuition. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
ANGRY MONTREAL MOM.
To Fellow Montrealer: Get your facts straight. 90% of Hebrew Academy is NOT ON DRUGS. What a stupid and ignorant comment. Unless you did a statistic on the school, you have no business spreading lashon hara against a Jewish School. You should be ashamed of yourself.
a mother
To a fellow Montrealer…
more like 90% of hebrew acadamy students become doctors, lawyers, scientist and so on.
Don’t kid your self, because I personally know that there was weed and cocaine going around Yeshiva a few years ago. My brother went there and he was one of the few who steered clear,,, if u look at that class there are maybe two students with decent jobs and families, the rest had their life ruined by drugs. so please, think before you talk.
to a mother
i remember their was a few family who put their kids in yeshivha gidolah because like you they tought lubavich was a waist of time asked them what happend to their kid.i think b-h today thier all ok today BUT….
to angry mtl. mom
i think u are quite mistaken..someone that works in air canada,just pays the txes…..and the whole family gets in on this…like i said leoilom voed..as long as u are working there…it’s like this with any job..there are benefits..this is the melamdim’s privilige…too bad…become yourself a melamed,or tell your husband to become one,so you’ll get in on it as well………….they, the melamdim can’t get away with all kinds of shetik or gesheftin that everyone else does with their parnoso..business..to scam the gov’t…ever thought of that,how much people who are doing that are saving….use that money for tuition……or give it away so those who cannot afford..pay…by, the way ,like i said before..the yeshiva still owes the melamdim 11 checks…and how much is that…figure it out…when will they ever see it,,,and to the topic of secular studies…the boys do just fine when they need to…there was always an option…no-one was ever forced..if u want secular..update the secular,but don’t force those that don’t want to do it…so what if they cannot read or spell,the best successful people that came out of europe, way back became almost millionaires,when they came to america.what do u say about that…it,s true..ain’t it……….so stop arguing and try to do something positive, instead of machloikes…
ANGRY MONTREAL MOM.
Actually I am NOT mistaken at all. Like I said previously, my sister works for Air Canada. They pay 50% of the ticketed price, plus taxes, and they can only fly stand-by. And this discounted rate is for their family only as long as their contract is in effect, and not forever as you are assuming.
As far as getting my husband to work at the Yeshiva, not bright, are you…if he worked there, we would not be able to afford the life we live. He works very hard and B’H makes enough money to pay full tuition, and feed not only our family, but other families in our community that cannot afford to feed themselves.
As far as the secular aspect…you say “the boys do just fine when they need to”… they don’t do just fine at all. The Yeshiva cannot operate due to the fact that our community cannot pay tuition, this is because more than half of the families here have no secular education and cannot get jobs that pay. Even the men who are shochtim are not doing just fine because there are not enough jobs for all the shochtim out there. You also say that these “best successful people that came out of Europe became millionaires” Who told you they could not read and write? That is YOUR assumption. Even our Rebbe, alav hashalom got a secular education. Not only did he get a secular education, he went to one of the best Universities in the world. NOW WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT????? Are your kids smarter or better or more chassidishe than the Rebbe? I think NOT. So why do you think your kids do not deserve an education half as good as the Rebbe got? Unfortunately the Secular program in Yeshiva is good for the garbage. When the Rebbe was asked if there should be a secular program in YTT, he said he thinks not, but he took it one step further and said that if they do have one, it should be the best secular program this city has known. Well my friend, our secular program is shameful, and I am sure the Rebbe is pretty disappointed in this hanhala. I am not creating any machloikes, I am hoping that people stop dreaming, and get together as a community and do the right thing for our boys. AS A COMMUNITY, UNIFIED. Just like the Rebbe would have wanted.
to.angry mtl.mom
o.k.u win with air canada..but u said as long as they have a contract..well as long as the melamdim have their contract,they have their contract..and NO TUITION>>BEAT THAT>>>and as far as your husband getting a job…not bright are u either..what kind of lifestyle are u leading………..obvious one that can never be compared to the melamdim……….and how can u put yourself on the same category as the rebbe mh’m…u have to be with good hard core character to even think about going to college or university…our kids now..i would say NOBODY is that strong….maybe 1 in a 100…..and i’m sure like u said that the rebbe would be much happier and happy that we do get together as 1,unified..no barrier,who’s more richer or not-in money and come up with a plan to finally pay the melamdim..7 checks NOW,and to properly open up the mesifta..money or not…OUR BOYS DO NOT BELONG IN THE STREETS>>>we all know where that will get them..chas vesholom……..