Concerned Citizens against Hebrew Charter School in East Brunswick NJ

There is a petition being circulated in East Brunswick to promote the opening of a Hebrew Charter School.  This school is being presented as a great and benign idea, but there are many damaging ramifications to it in our town which are not being mentioned.

·       This school could not co-exist with SSDS, our Conservative Day School. There are already a large amount of Jewish schools in the area drawing from the same small applicant pool.

·       East Brunswick Township would lose significant  income from property taxes to the charter school that currently goes to East Brunswick public schools.

·       East Brunswick Jewish Center would lose its main tenant if SSDS closes, at a time when the Temple is already struggling.

·       EBJC Hebrew School would also lose kids to this school, at a considerable financial loss.

·       The Charter School would drain Jewish kids from our regular public schools.

·       Other local Jewish Day Schools, such as Shalom Torah, would be hurt.

·       The Charter School is being portrayed as an alternative to SSDS, but as it is a public school, it could NOT provide a Jewish education.  No tefilla, model Seders, Chanukah parties, Torah study etc during school hours, only Hebrew language curriculum. It would have to be open on Jewish holidays. Their idea would be to provide Jewish subjects after and before school at an extra cost, sort of a reverse Hebrew School, making it a very long school day. Many parents, of day school and public school children, are not interested in this.

·       Perhaps the biggest problem is that even if the parents were willing to make such a great compromise on the Jewish curriculum, the Charter School would have limited enrollment and a lottery system to choose its students.  Many SSDS kids would not get a spot, even though their school had been forced to close. SSDS has about 40-50 kids from other towns. The Charter school could take only 10% of its student body from these towns, (maybe a total of 10?) leaving many other children with no Jewish education option.

·       The Charter school would be initially  opened for K-2, possibly K-3 or 4 at the best case, with the intent to grow in coming years, closing our Conservative Day School and once again not offering a spot to most of the displaced kids.

·       This idea would work for a limited number of families, overall causing much more harm than good for everyone else.

·       Dont be fooled by the half-truths being presented.  The proponents of the Charter School are telling people that SSDS is dying anyway. NOT TRUE. SSDS has ZERO debt. It is a vibrant, lively school recently named one of only 50 Blue Ribbon Finalists in the country! The school has been restructured for a smaller student body. It is very feasible to run a thriving, successful school with sub-150 kids.  It is dangerous and unethical to spread rumors such as these, at a time when many people are working so hard to keep the school successful.

In order to establish this school, the proponents have to submit a petition with as many names as possible by March 31 of this year to demonstrate that there is a need for this. People have been told that signing is only an expression of interest, but that is not true, these names will be submitted to the NJ Dept. of Education to persuade them that there is a need for this school.

We the undersigned urge you to consider all the facts carefully. The Dept of Education welcomes community comments,so we will be submitting our own petition to the State of New Jersey to demonstrate that there is NOT a need for a Hebrew Language Charter School in East Brunswick at this time.

We ask for your support in protecting our public schools, day schools, Hebrew schools, Temples and township, by signing the attached petition.