No article I have written has received the response that my recent article, in
which I demonstrated how tuition fees can substantially and easily be
reduced—without any new money being needed to be raised, nor with any funds for other charities being diverted to education. If foundations spend part of their capital and have it replenished with insurance purchased by day school parents, we can solve a major crisis now, while maintaining and even increasing funds for the future.
As the CJN itself noted a few weeks back, back enrollment at TanenbaumCHAT is down some 160 students in the past three years– and a further drop is expected for the upcoming school year. While the decrease has been attributed by some to demographics, my own research demonstrates that finances play a much greater role. Generation X may have had slightly fewer kids, but Toronto has been, and continues to be, a magnet for Jewish immigration from all over the world. The Jewish community today is larger than it was 15 years ago, so enrollment should be going up, not the reverse. Demographics do play a role – in the decision of countless committed parents to have fewer children. As many have noted, day school tuition is the best form of birth control.
CHAT’s own research shows that 96% of their graduates marry Jews. For
students attending public school, the rate of intermarriage is over 50%. While the ultimate goal is Birthright Education – free education for every Jewish child—we will start with a goal of a 50% cut in tuition. With the assumption that such savings will entice many to opt for a day school education, what this means is that for every million dollars dedicated to tuition reduction—monies that will be returned with “interest”—four Jews who would have otherwise intermarried will marry Jews.
Without getting into all the details, here is a simplified example of how this can work. A family with four children in the day school system has $800,000 of tuition to look forward to. In return for a tuition loan of $500,000 over some 18 years, the couple buys $2,000,000 in life insurance, payable either to a communal education fund, or the foundation providing the loan. If they purchase the insurance when the husband is 40 and wife 37, it will cost them approximately $120,000 over 18 years, at which time no more premiums will be necessary. The family saves some $380,000 and the charity receives four times the money it loaned, which can be used for future charitable giving. Even if the couple lives into their nineties, that is a return of about 2.5% compounded annually, higher than government guaranteed bonds.
The much greater return is the investment in the Jewish future, in guaranteeing that Jewish children will have access to Jewish education, and in having a cadre of committed Jews to strengthen and financially support our community. I look forward to hearing from those who are willing to help fund this initiative—one that makes a huge impact now while paying even greater dividends in the future.
I can be reached at rabbijay@torahinmotion.org or 416.633.5770.