Lakewood Tuition Breakthrough

Photos: Reuven Schwartz

At the turn of the century, a group of askanim got together to strategize how to ease the tuition burden that was crushing Jewish families’ budgets.

As veterans of the recent victory to get the New York state government to pay for fertility treatments, they realized that when it came to tuition, the sums were so huge that only the government could make a meaningful difference.

The odds were daunting. Most states housing frum communities have Blaine Amendments on the books; these amendments bar taxpayer dollars from going to religious schools. Furthermore, the teachers’ unions, which typically lead the fight against private schools, held legislatures in a viselike grip. And as much as states were pouring money into public schools, the system was demanding far more. But the askanim weren’t deterred.

It’s January 2022, and the first victory is here. And the one behind it credits a “fluke phone call” for leading him to a program that will hand thousands of dollars to hundreds of New Jersey yeshivah parents.

Mishpacha can exclusively reveal that Lakewood Township will announce a direct government voucher to school parents from funds it received from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion Covid stimulus that last year allocated money to every state, city, and municipality in the country. And several other towns in New Jersey, such as Cherry Hill, Passaic, and Edison, are considering making the same move.