MAJOR CRISIS: School Shuts Down, Others Raise Tuition As Financial Woes Slam The Chinuch System

A financial crisis is rocking the chinuch system, with boys and girls schools – including elementary schools, high schools, mesivtos, and batei medrashim – feeling a serious cash crunch. The money woes are not isolated to one particular town or geographic area, with mosdos chinuch spread throughout the U.S. suffering from far fewer big donors and a growing number of parents who are unable to pay full tuition.

In recent months, multiple schools in Flatbush, Boro Park, Lakewood, and Monsey have missed payroll, unable to pay their rebbeim and morahs due to a lack of funds. Multiple schools and yeshivos have quietly sent urgent notices to donors describing the gravity of the situation. Unfortunately, there appears to be no easy answer, as the overall economy has slowed considerably, expenses have gone up, and some popular investments – particularly, but not limited to, real estate – are currently suffering.

The situation has become so untenable at some schools that their administrators have been forced to take drastic measures. In Monsey, staff of Bnos Derech Yisorel informed parents that due to financial difficulties, the school is forced to shut down as of Thursday, May 23.

“Due to ongoing financial difficulties, the school staff has not received their salaries for the past three months,” the message to parents said. “While we recognize the financial challenges every school is currently facing and have made every effort and worked diligently to address them, we have regrettably run out of options to remediate the situation.”

In Lakewood, a girls elementary school recently informed parents that they will be raising tuition for the 2024-2025 school year from $7,500 to $11,000 – a 46% increase that could be devastating for hundreds of families. While $11,000 in tuition is low for some areas, it marks the highest tuition for an elementary school in Lakewood. Many other schools – in Lakewood and beyond – are considering doing the same, either for the coming year or the year following.

With the crisis simmering, experts in the chinuch field tell YWN that there appears no obvious solution in sight, though they hope that donors will soon see their investments turn around, allowing for larger and critically needed donations.

This article was republished with permission from The Yeshiva World.