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Agudath Israel of New Jersey held its second annual legislative breakfast Sept. 13 at the Regency Jewish Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Somerset, to honor New Jersey politicians for their commitment to issues that pertain to Orthodox Jews in the state, the most pressing issue being funding for private schools.

Agudath Israel honored Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), State Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-3), State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-21), Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-36), Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-12), Monmouth County sheriff and Republican candidate for deputy governor Kim Guadagno, and Lakewood committee member Menashe Miller at the breakfast.

Josh Pruzansky, executive director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey, said at the breakfast that the current economic climate and families with several children, common in the Orthodox community, makes paying tuition particularly difficult.

"We've had schools from the time Jacob and his families went down to Egypt, where Yehuda started a yeshiva in Goshen," Pruzansky said. "We've always had yeshivas in schools; we're not closing our yeshivas and schools."

Pruzansky said that $250 million is spent statewide on over 100 Jewish schools in tuition fees alone. That number does not include special-needs services such as speech therapy or occupational therapy that are barely provided or not offered at all in yeshivas.

"A parent with a special-needs child either sends a child to public school for full services or sends a child to yeshiva with little or no funding for those programs," Pruzansky told The Jewish State. "Parents here are spending $45,000 a year to educate this one child, and if they have large families, which many do, they have to pay tuition on top of their other problems and just can't do it."

Also affecting the cost of yeshiva tuition is the elimination of the non-public school technology plan, which provided some funding to private schools statewide to replace obsolete equipment and fund technology maintenance.

"The high cost of tuition coupled with property taxes has taken a toll not just on the families, but on the yeshivas themselves because of the tuition income [they're losing]," Pruzansky said. "Now, we need to find a way to rectify the situation. What little money we had coming from the state was eliminated with the elimination of the non-public school technology plan."

A way to rectify the situation, he said, is currently sitting in New Jersey State Senate: bill S-1607. Co-sponsored by Kean and Raymond Lesniak (D-20), it would allow private companies to provide a scholarship to a child who is either failing in public school and cannot afford to switch schools or to a child currently enrolled in a private school that cannot pay the tuition. Similar versions of the bill passed in Georgia and several other states, and according to Pruzansky, they are successful programs.

"The important part of it is that it's a partnership," Pruzansky said, emphasizing that a private company awarding a scholarship will not involve state funds. "These types of scholarships are already available in other states, so we're trying to replicate that here in New Jersey."

"This is legislation that uses volunteer contributions to try to make sure that there's more school choice in the state for those who need that type of assistance," Kean, who was honored by Agudath Israel for his commitment to the bill, told The Jewish State. "It's important that we work together to ensure that those types of resources enhance opportunities for those who need it throughout the state."

Sweeney spoke about the financial challenges New Jersey faces as it looks for ways to pass S-1670.

"New Jersey can't print money, but we can find ways to get finances to accomplish things that Josh is working for," Sweeney said about Pruzansky, who also serves as the state representative of private schools children and parties interested in school choice. "We collect a lot of money, but we don't spend it properly."

Also honored for his commitment to the New Jersey Jewish community was Menendez, who is vocal about his support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. He also has a strong connection with New Jersey's Jewish community that extends back to his time as mayor of Union City, where there is a strong Hassidic community.

"I'm proud of that relationship that started in the late ‘80s and has continued every year since," Menendez said. "I care about Israel as an ally, as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, and as a member of the Finance Committee, I can tell you Israel will have a strong supporter as it meets its financial challenges. I remind my colleagues at every opportunity -- Israel's existence has roots going back to the time of Abraham. Its re-establishment is a strong commitment of the world to Jewish people."