By JANICE ARNOLD, Canadian Jewish News
MONTREAL — The 68-year-old Rabbinical College of Canada (RCC), the Lubavitcher yeshiva, has launched an “emergency” campaign because it is facing a financial crisis.
The school delayed payment of salaries to its approximately 60 teachers as a result of its cash-flow problems, administrator Linda Rosenblum acknowledged.
She said $600,000 is needed to get out of the current crunch.
A combination of factors explains the school’s situation, including the economic downturn, Rosenblum said. Some of the RCC’s traditional supporters have curtailed their donations.
But a turning point was the addition of a third floor two years ago to accommodate growing enrolment.
A million-dollar gift was received for the project, but construction ultimately cost $2.5 million, she said, and the school took out a mortgage.
The extra space has meant more staff and greater overhead, such as for heating and electricity, she pointed out.
The school has seen a steady rise in the number of students because the Lubavitch community has a high birthrate and, despite the expansion, the school is still short of space.
It now serves close to 400 boys from pre-kindergarten through high school.
Higher enrolment, however, doesn’t mean higher revenue. The contrary is true, she said.
The school accepts all students, regardless of their families’ ability to pay, and most are not paying full tuition.
“This is a poor community, with one parent and sometimes, unfortunately, no parent working,” she said.
The current annual tuition fee is $5,200, but the average amount families pay is between $2,000 and $3,000, she said. The cost of educating a child is about $8,000 a year.
Rosenblum said response to the appeal for funds has so far been tepid.
“We’ve had some phone calls, and people have sent small cheques, but that is not going to solve the problem.”
As for meeting the payroll, Rosenblum said last week, “We’re working on it… These things happen sometimes, but we have never not paid our teachers.”
The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer, who fled Poland for Shanghai and then Japan, and brought with him to Canada nine of his students.
The school has been located on its current site on Westbury Avenue since the early 1960s.
i live in mtl and its a beautiful and warm community and to #2 take a chill pill yes we have some difficulties but look at the other side it’s much better than CHI aren’t you supposed to look at the better side and say tracht gut vet zain gut or maybe get your act together and donate now to yeshivah!
the yeshiva has real issues, 15 yrs ago the teachers werent getting paid either. and if a parent pays in full they still woulnt give the parent any attention, EVEN though they really need the money,
since when is learning english any guarante for business over kodesh? look around lubavitch these days, the ones with or without $ have NOTHING to do with their elementry education. this is lubavitch and we believe in the G-d in the world!
C”V TO LEARNING ENGLISH when ur 12 because u MIGHT b able to use it later on.
If you people would have been following the *news reports out of Montréal you would under stand a big part of the problem which is that the government cut off funding as of last school year (if I’m not mistaken)Because the yeshiva won’t offer a higher education / French to their students I think that especially in this troubled economy that every yeshiva has an obligation to offer a higher education program so all yeshiva students will have a chance to make it in life if they decide to be something other then a Rabbi Here is that News Report… Read more »
The teachers are really suffering!
Fathers with big families!
How are they supposed to put food on the table?
Moshiach now!!
“The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer” i thought by the frierdiker rebbb…..
“never missed a payment” halevai…………………..
a montreal resident
The RCC was founded in 1941 by the late Rabbi Leib Kramer, and when in charge for 50 years never missed a payment of the tachers!! not that the school was taken over and they have no clue what they are doing the school is falling apart!!
where’s the juice — Moshiach now — which one of the people in this picture have more that two cents to rub together??? huh?? a groiseh yeshua vet kumen foon drert — me-eretz tizmach – yeshua also, good shabbos yoyee G.
hope they get money soon!!!