The Talmud Torah Board of Directors voted late Wednesday night at a private meeting to keep the Talmud Torah of Saint Paul (TTSP) open for preschool through fourth graders next year despite looming budgetary problems and fears about declining enrollment. The meeting was preceeded by a strong vote of the United Jewish Fund and Council of Saint Paul’s Board on Monday night to support and fund the local Jewish school.
It was a close vote by the Talmud Torah board, and the culmination of months of commentary by parents and community members about the importance of a local Jewish education for their children.
The result was both one of relief and sadness, especially for those who were hoping the school would be able to maintain its upper grades (the school currently enrolls students in preschool through eighth grade). Said said Lisa Cohen, Chair of the Board of Directors, “We are excited to be able to continue offering a TTSP education to K-4 children and yet we regret that we were not able to maintain the viability of grades 5-8.”
TTSP has provided Jewish education to the St. Paul community for 62 years. The school is currently accepting applications for its preschool, Day School and afternoon/evening programs. For more information about TTSP and its enriching programs, visit www.ttsp.org or call 651-698-8807.
Did you go to TTSP? What do you think about the decision? How will this news affect you and your family/friends?
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My wife and I never thought of a Jewish day school before our decision to look at what was out there. We fell in love with Talmud Torah, and our kids will be back next year. I wonder about the fractional nature of our community, the St. Paul/ Minneapolis split that seems to go along with the secular one. And while I’m wondering, how do we best get the word out to unaffilated Jewish families. Any thoughts?
[email protected]
Nice scoop Leora. Do you have details on how much the UJFC BOD committed to the TTSP K-4 for next year? 1/2 million mentioned in the Star Trib article would be a bit high.
Hi Everyone,
Please see news release here bit.ly/apiHG3 regarding the UJFC/Jewish Federation of Greater St. Paul’s significant roll in helping Talmud Torah of St. Paul’s Day School stay open. We are committed to preserving this key insitution which provides a valuable education for our kids with small class sizes and an emphasis on developing critical thinking skills and building a strong Jewish identity.
Check out our new website at http://www.jewishstpaul.org to learn more about who we are, what we do in the community and how you can contribute your resources, whether through donations or volunteer time. The UJFC and TTSP rely on your support.
Feel free to email me with questions at [email protected]
Thanks!
Adva Priso, UJFC Marketing and Communications Director
Link to the news release mentioned above here: http://bit.ly/apiHG3
Thanks.
Hey George – Adva is your best contact to find out more about how much the UJFC committed.
Adva – can you weigh in on that one?
Word is they expect 25 kids. If UJFC gives $500,000 that’s $20,000 per kid. And that’s for one year? I guess 1/2 million doesn’t buy what it use to. Please tell me the Strib and Pioneer Press have their facts wrong.
Stephen – I think they’re expecting more like 70 kids, but I hope someone from the school chimes in a bit here. I’m really not knowledgeable about what’s going on (although it’s incredibly important to me, as someone who grew up with TTSP).
Leora: Thanks for the quick response. Pioneer Press quotes Marissa Onheiber, “Onheiber estimates there will be 25-30 students in the K-4 program.” $500,000 (if true) seems like a lot.
The $500,000 was for this year and 91 students. In the last five years TTSP had provided $474,000/yr plus a lot of capital to build out the upper school. Now all that capital has gone to waste. I’m really surprised less than 30 for five grades
http://www.twincities.com/ci_15032883
That is less than six students per class. They had previously said they would not continue without 70 students for K-6
It is questionable that the school will be economically feasible at this point. Utility bills alone will be high. Are they going to continue art & music & other electives?
UJFC will eventually have to be transparent about how much support they are providing. When so many deserving social service and other agencies could really make effective use of additional resources or avoid cuts, it is troubling that UJFC would provide a large grant to 25-30 “special” kids and staff. I look forward to full disclosure.
I’ve been a (modest) contributor to UJFC and while I know it won’t make a difference I think I’ll go from modest to 0. George nailed it. It is troubling that so much money has been spent for so little when there is so much need elsewhere. I hear that St. Paul kids go to MJDS or whatever they call it now. Couldn’t you buy a bus and send the 25 “special” St. Paul kids to Mpls., and provide for the needy. What a waste. UJFC explain!!!
George,
You’re not going to like what I found. According to a Star Trib article:
http://www.startribune.com/local/92967699.html
“At its board meeting on Monday, the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul, the school’s biggest benefactor, decided not to reduce its stipend for next year even though grades were being eliminated, a move that will provide more scholarship money per pupil.
So they apparently will provide $474,000 for 25-30 students and staff while cutting every other agency by big amounts. I will keep digging and hopefully Leora will also to get the rest of the story. Meanwhile the 25-30 “golden” children and their staff will “survive”.
I will introduce myself and express my displeasure to Eli & Laura and then move on to support other organizations who are better stewards of my contribution. Very sad.
According to the 2008 UJFC annual report, TTSP got $539,000 in 2007-08. According to the 2009 UJFC annual report, TTSP got $474,000 in 2008-09.
For clafification – The allocation to Talmud Torah is to support Talmud Torah of St. Paul, not just the Day School but all of their programs: The Day School, Preschool, afternoon school and Midrasha (High School Program). All together, more than 250 children participated in formal educational programs administered by the school this year. That is 250 local kids who received some type of formal Jewish education. That is a significant number. To link the entire UJFC allocation to just the Day school would incorrect and misleading as the Day School program is just one of several programs offered by TTSP. In fact the day school is only 20 some odd years old while TTSP is more than 60 years old. Even without the day school program, TTSP would still receive an allocation from the UJFC to support its other programs. Linking the entire UJFC allocation to TTSP’s Day School proram would be similar to trying to link all the UJFC’s allocation to the JCC’s summer camp program or JFS’s services to seniors. These agencies provide multiple programs and services to the St. Paul Jewish community. A more accurate discussion might be the incremental allocation to TTSP with or without the Day School.
Stephen raises a great point and concern for the viability for future communal fundraising. As someone who strongly believes in the overall benefit of Jewish community building and fundraising, if one does not approve of the UJFC’s allocation decisions, one should with hold their support to the UJFC which is every person’s right to do so. However by doing so, one is also reducing the amount of $ the UJFC can allocate not only to TTSP but to the other local and overseas agencies. More and more people are responding like Stephen, finding reasons not to support Jewish communal funding e.g. I don’t like the policies/government of Israel (too liberal or too conservative), this agency gets too much funding, this agency doesn’t get enough funding, too much goes overseas, too little goes overseas, I no longer use the services of Jewish agencies and therefore don’t need to support the community, I don’t like a board member of XYZ agency that recieves UJFC funding, UJFC spends too on overheas, UJFC should do more to recognize donors, etc. In truth, it is very easy to look for and to find reasons not to support community fundraising as there are many decisions made and many opportunities not to be able to please everyone(see above). It is also easy though to look for the benefits of and to find reasons for to support communal fundraising (efficient and effective, support a wide variety of programs and agencies through 1 gift, it is part of Jewish tradition of community and responsibility, allows one to help Jews in need that one would not normally think about or be able to help otherwise, etc.) However, the reason one finds to give or not to give usually depends on what that person is utlimately looking for.
Thanks for the attempt at clarification, but maybe people would be more supportive if UJFC came clean and explained this instead of citing a 2004 survey as support for giving so much for so few. BE HONEST UJFC. Why?
There is one easy reason, out of many I’m sure, for this support, and it is the reason expounded upon by both the UJFC and TTSP. The loss of a Jewish Day School in St. Paul will change the outlook for Jewish identity, Jewish community, and Jewish Leadership for the future.
Not all are able, and some not interested, to send children to MJSP. We have a school in TTSP, one that, instead of closing as a number of St. Paul private schools have, will stay open with increased aid, and work (and work hard) to grow again as the economy and other issues improve.
I’m happy to refer you to studies I have read that link Jewish Day School education to Jewish identity. Above and beyond the experience at the school, which has been stellar, this information made it even more crucial for us, in the midst of a non-Jewish community, to stay at TTSP.
Thank you to “A Jew with a View” for your response, it is absolutely correct. Our core allocation to TTSP this year will be the same as last year at $474,000, which includes significant one-time restructuring costs related to downsizing. In the future, allocations are expected to decline to reflect the school’s reduced size.
The number of students the TTSP enrolls is 316 total, between the Preschool, Day School, Afternoon School, Midrasha and TTSP/Mount Zion’s Hebrew programs. The allocation is for the entire school’s operational costs and all programs, not just the Day School.
As always, the UJFC is fully transparent in our beneficiary agency allocations both to our local and overseas agencies. You can always check out our annual report online here http://www.jewishstpaul.org/page.aspx?id=200056 . We have a rigorous analysis of community needs each year through our Central Budget Review Committee, which reviews recommendations from five budget sub-committees and prepares final allocation budget recommendation for approval by the UJFC Board of Directors. CBRC is comprised of a large number of community members.
I hope you will check out our website to find out more about all that the UJFC does for critical greater St. Paul community and overseas Jewish needs. You can watch a video about what we do via the link above or read more here: http://www.jewishstpaul.org/page.aspx?id=198601
Again, feel free to contact me with any questions at [email protected] Thank you.
I have re-read the article about Talmud Torah and there appears to be assumptions being made without supporting facts.
Assumption #1 – More scholarships per student. No one was quoted as saying that a continued allocation at the same level to TTSP would mean more scholarships per student. That was an assumption that the reporter made. Here are the problems with that assumption. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that if there are fewer students in the day school and the allocation is the same, the amount each student receives will increase. However, once again the Day School is only 1 program. Perhaps the school is expecting an increase in enrollment in its other programs from those students who used to go to the day school, or perhaps the other programs will see an influx of students from the general Jewish community. Maybe some of the allocation will be ear marked to be used to hire a consultant to help the school address some of its issues or for increased marketing. I don’t know and neither does the writer. It was only assumed that the money is used for scholarships.
Assumption #2 – Every other agency will be cut by big amounts because of the allocation to TTSP. As far as I know, allocation decisions have not been made nor is the UJFC campaign over. Supposed the UJFC Campaign increases by $500,000 this year (unlikely especially if people continue to threaten withholding their support but let’s suppose) and the TTSP allocation is flat. One could assume that every other agency other than TTSP would get an increase in thier allocation. Now one could then argue that wouldn’t be fair and therefore will again find a reason to with hold their support for communal fundraising. Perhaps, UJFC will reduce its own budget which it did last year or reduce overseas allocations or cut one agnecy by X amount and reallocate to another agency and thereby increasing that allocation. There are many possibilities so it is premature to jump to assumptions.
There seems to be anger directed either at TTSP, its students or their parents or at the UJFC. Not sure why. Rather than anger though, a “what can we do as a community to address this and other issues” (there are a number of issues facing the St. Paul Jewish community, Jewish Day School education being just one of them) would be more constructive.
The point isn’t that day school is bad but that resources are finite. TT took a lot of money to expand (sceince lab, new library, etc.) for grades 5-8 and 2 years later closed those grades becasue all the parents moved their kids to other schools. Mr. Wall’s wife may remain employed and he needs to support that. The question that needs to be debated is if a jewish agency has wasted resources and its 115 of its `140 customrs have left is that the best allocation of resorces? I’ve heard nothing tht says a school tht loses so many kids to a rival day school helps a community.
Stephen seems to think he knows my reasons for my support of the school. He should not attempt to tell me what I need to do. As with a number of his assumptions, he is incorrect. My wife won’t even be working for TTSP next year. MJDS did not get all of the students who left TTSP over the last few years. TTSP is not the only private school to have decreased enrollment, and a number of those schools have closed for lack of community support. And lastly, to quote a previous post, “The number of students the TTSP enrolls is 316 total, between the Preschool, Day School, Afternoon School, Midrasha and TTSP/Mount Zion’s Hebrew programs. The allocation is for the entire school’s operational costs and all programs, not just the Day School.”
“Waste” is a subjective term as used by Stephen. If one considers a Jewish day school in St. Paul important, then supporting it in a time of difficulty and funding efforts to make it larger are not waste. If anything, it is an investment.
Facts should inform statements and questions.
Kudos, Michael.
You are dead on. The budget for TTSP includes numerous programs that help build identity for over 300 children in the greater Saint Paul area. Without UJFC’s support numerous families would be affected as would synagogue membership and the Saint Paul jewish identity. Parents are motivated to build the school along with UJFC support. More scholarship money is indeed not forthcoming and up until now the parents have NOT been notified of the urgency involved in building enrollment. Parents built the school initially and will build it again once given the fair shake that they are now being given.