Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Fights for Our Yeshivot

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who has always fought for legislation benefitting yeshivot and non-public schools, was instrumental in assisting the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF) and its coalition partner, OU-Teach NYS, by making them aware of an enormous opportunity which could allow the Jewish community to take advantage of new legislation in this year’s state budget.

In his “State of the State” address, Governor Cuomo proposed a $2 billion “Smart Schools” bond referendum to help equip students with the technology they need to compete with their national and global counterparts. Unfortunately, yeshivahs and non-public schools were not included in the original bond proposal. Current federal and state aid funding is simply not enough.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz immediately led the charge in the NY State Assembly and worked closely with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office to add language to the referendum clarifying that the technology supported by the bond must benefit all students equally—regardless of where they attend school. He made this a top priority because he felt the current language would be “patently unjust to our tax-paying yeshivah families.”

In recent weeks, the bond act was the subject of a massive letter-writing campaign in our community spearheaded by Assemblyman Cymbrowitz to ensure that yeshivahs and other non-public schools would be among the beneficiaries. With the help of the Orthodox Union and Sephardic Community Federation, thousands of parents signed petitions urging Governor Cuomo to change the language of the bond act to expand it beyond public schools. Happily, these efforts were successful.

If approved by the voters in November, every yeshivah and Jewish day school would see an allocation of up to $250 per student for technology for a total of $31,250 for the yeshivah/Jewish day school community. This “Smart Schools” initiative can help with infrastructure improvements, to bring high-speed broadband to schools and with the purchase of classroom technology for use by students and teachers. Chalkboards can be replaced with technology such as whiteboards; it will enable schools to go wireless and educate students using tablets (Internet-restricted if necessary), instead of outdated textbooks and worksheets.

Every child in New York deserves a high-level education, and 21st century education requires 21st century tools. Now, due to the combined efforts of individuals like Assemblyman Cymbrowitz, we could have the potential to provide our schools with technology that would go a long way toward ensuring that our children have the skills to compete in a global economy.

“I am pleased that the 2014-15 New York State budget includes so much positive news for yeshivah families and schools,” Assemblyman Cymbrowitz said. “Much of the good news resulted from collaboration, persistence and focusing on the goal we all share—helping our children and families.”

We applaud and thank Assemblyman Cymbrowitz for working tirelessly on behalf of yeshivahs and Jewish education.