In First, Florida State Budget Includes Money For Jewish School Security
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Florida lawmakers passed a budget that allocates $645,000 to increase security at Jewish day schools.
The fiscal year 2018 budget approved on Monday night marked the first time that the state’s Legislature has allocated security funds to Jewish day schools, according to the Orthodox Union.
An O.U. program, Teach Florida, helped draft the legislation for the security grants and advocated for its passage, the O.U. said in a statement.
Teach Florida also advocated for expanding tax credit scholarships for nonpublic school students. The new budget will increase elementary school scholarships by nearly $500 per student and high school scholarships by more than $1,000 per student.
“Security is a public good, and we appreciate that Florida’s elected officials have stepped up to help safeguard our students,” Mimi Jankovits, executive director of Teach Florida, said in a statement.
Last month, New York state allocated $40 million in security funds for nonpublic schools in its fiscal year 2018 budget after lobbying from the O.U.’s Teach NYS.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
- Alyssa Katz, Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
