
In a thought-provoking online post, financial strategist and advisor Eli Fried offered a fresh perspective on the challenges of skyrocketing yeshivah tuition.
Fried, known for his candid and straightforward approach, cut through the noise and finger-pointing to highlight what he sees as the core issue: a lack of government funding and insufficient school choice.
Fried opened his post by tackling the common complaints often levied against yeshivos, such as overpricing, inefficiency, stingy donors, or luxurious expenditures on donuts and marble lobbies. While these issues might frustrate parents and make for easy targets, Fried made it clear that none of these factors address the systemic challenge at the heart of the problem.
“The key root cause is NOT overpricing, inefficiency, or apathetic parents,” Fried wrote. Instead, he pinpointed the crux of the crisis: the absence of sufficient government funding for private religious schools and a lack of robust school choice programs.
Triple Burden on Parents
Fried’s argument resonates with many in the community who feel trapped under an overwhelming financial burden. He outlined the triple financial hit parents face:
- Property taxes: Families pay significant taxes to fund public schools their children don’t attend.
- Income taxes: A portion of federal and state income taxes also goes to support public education systems.
- Yeshivah tuition: On top of those mandatory contributions, parents must pay steep tuition fees for private Jewish education.
“This is a multi-billion-dollar drain annually,” Fried noted, emphasizing how this financial model unfairly disadvantages families who prioritize religious education.
Fried didn’t shy away from acknowledging that secondary issues—like pricing, transparency, and donor involvement—can and should be addressed. However, he was adamant that these measures would amount to little more than Band-Aids. Without tackling the systemic lack of government funding and advocating for school choice programs, he argued, the crisis would persist.
Fried’s post is a rallying cry for the frum community to focus its efforts on long-term solutions. “We can and should tinker with the other cost factors,” he wrote, “but the problem needs to be addressed at its root. Everything else is slapping Band-Aids.”
{Matzav.com}
Government funded religious schools will never happen unfortunately. Especially here in NY. The only way it can possibly happen is through a federal tax credit, but that’s all it will be a credit against federal income tax burden, not a paid in full voucher
We need support betterment.
Just wondering if he realizes that while there are legitimate expenses many admins are in competition with other schools and put a lot of the budernbon parents. There are expenses true, there are self inflicted as well. If he feels there is nothing to trim then he clearly doesn’t know the school system. I have been working in schools my entire carrier bh. There are schools that watch every dollar and raise the tuition only when they need. Then there are schools fir their glory will spend on millions they don’t have. Ysv in spring valley put up a nice building with a simcha hall for a fraction of schools a quarter of their size l8n lakewood. Yes there are expenses and yes there are schools that spend crazy numbers with no cheshbon.
Let me sing you a song.
Maybe we should have AI programs teaching the students. Many students in a room with computers and a proctor. This would save the salary. Not 1 teacher per period for 25 students.
Rather 2 for a 100 students.
How about no income tax, no school tax, no property tax. I’ll figure how to pay for tuition myself without government getting involved.
As long as public schools exist, some tax burden for them will fall on all families.
Yes. Very well explained, short and to the point.
It disturbs me deeply that so many in our community do not realize this basic truth.
I will add three points:
1. Each families financial situation does not operate in a vacuum. We are operating within the economy of the country in which we live. Had we lived in a country where all members paid for their children’s tuition and had large families, then we wouldn’t have a Yeshiva tuition crises, because this would be a basic need for everyone in the workforce raising the median wages at a level that can cover it. (Simply put: if a company offered wages that does not cover this basic need, the jobs wouldn’t fill so they would need to raise their wages). But with the current situation that all Americans, rich or poor, receive free tuition for their children (plus the fact that in recent years they have few children resulting in couples having two salaries further lowering the average wages down), earning a salary that can cover private tuition requires being at the top of the percentile levels of income earners. So it’s not simply that since we cannot afford it we blame the government for not funding it, it is that since they fund everyone else besides us, this makes it impossible for us. So even the rich in America get free tuition and we pay after tax dollars (which means that if we are to pay full tuition, we probably need to earn almost double the tuition in addition to what we need for all other life expenses.)
2. We all do pay for the public school tuition, meaning that we are paying for our neighbors tuition via property tax. This includes those of us who rent, since our landlords pay it and that expense of theirs is passed on to the tenant included in the rent.
3. It seems to me that the fact that there is not enough awareness that this is the root cause, is somewhat preventing pushing for a solution.
I will give two examples:
A. In the 2016 presidential primaries one of the main campaign promises that senator Ted Cruz ran on was school choice. Being that this is one of the biggest issues our community faces I expected the Frum community to come out and vote for him in large numbers, but when I looked up I found that the votes for him in the Brooklyn Frum areas was very low (it was high compared to our neighbors, but nowhere near the number of votes our community gave to Lee Zeldon for example).
B.. President Trump in 2016 (copying Cruz) promised school choice and did not deliver. He did not even include it in his tax reform to make tuition payments pre-tax which can be done at the federal level. In 2024 he did mention a few times about school choice but nothing about it was included in any of his executive orders as of today. This is despite the past few years many millions of Americans becoming very frustrated with the public school system due to gender related education. In all his campaign visits and speeches to the Frum community he mentioned Israel and not a word about school choice (as far as I know). The assumption I make from this is that all the Frum Askonim working with him (which he has connections to our community more than any other president), have not brought up this subject as a priority need for our community (perhaps the Agudah is the exception). Being that he believes in school choice, had it been pounded upon him by every Frum Askan, by every community member visit etc., he would at least mention it, and I think they could have get some type of executive order or promise that he will cut funding to states that don’t offer it etc.
In short, I think that if our community truly understood this, we would be able to make a change.
Umm who is this guy?
Over the next few weeks, we might expect continuation of this discussion, with differing views. All are guilty of generalizing and pointing a blaming finger in a single direction.
Perhaps there isn’t a single cause. Perhaps no two yeshivos are the same. That would mean fewer “experts” telling us the real problem while providing no solution. Fewer clicks. Less traffic on the site.
Suggesting an unrealistic solution is the same as saying there is no solution. Duh, don’t you think everyone knows it would be easier if we had more government help.? Is he suggesting we should either not pay property tax, not pay income tax, or send our children to public school? All discussions about tuition start with the premise “unless a miracle happens and a ton of government money falls from the sky, what should we do….
Why does he include endowments in the list of no’s
Our Mosdos should definitely be figuring ways how to make themselves financially stable. Endowments are a good thing and should be a number 1 priority for ALL Mosdos.
I’m not sure why so many on this forum are saying (in their own way) that it will never happen. You push and push and do as much hishtadlus as possible….I truly do believe that it CAN happen…question is when.
I have heard the argument that the Yeshivos will raise the tuition per kid once the govt starts paying in…my attitude is, let’s worry about when we get to that point – meanwhile, when these issues do come up regarding elections, get out and vote properly!
Eli I got just one question . There are some schools that offer a very similar product at the much more cheaper for example there’s a this is school in Boro Park called tiferes elimelech.they have a superstar principal assistant principal and rabbis they have an amazing school that many would love to send there .Their tuition is Bare Bones as is their wepl maintained elementary building.don’t get me wrong things are fixed tiles break they’re fixed AC brakes it’s fixed .Rebbes have received raises over the years the owner does not take a crazy salary and has every dollar spent responsibly on necessities and not luxuries. I believe we should be turning to someone like him and ask him how it’s possible to run a school on minimal tuition and many in the school are in lower income. Yet he managed to pay bills every month fiscal responsibility is a huge Factor. here is it if we need it and we will get it we do it or is it we get it and then figure out how to pay for it .Big difference schools are a huge financial responsibility there’s no question you can reduce costs there’s no question that it’ll still be enormously expensive to ru.n Mr freed I encourage you to reach out to the older administrators who are paying payroll each and every month and letting the building run properly and efficiently for a much lower rate let’s not run our school corporately that is what’s raising a lot of prices