The Jerusalem Municipality has decided to allow full funding of educational institutions designated "recognized but unofficial" following intense efforts by chareidi representatives and by Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus, who serves as deputy mayor and holds the education portfolio.
The decision puts an end to a three-year campaign to secure municipal funding from various authorities for Chinuch Atzmai and Maayan Hachinuch Hatorani schools, which were not including in the city's budget for cleaning, janitorial and maintenance costs for local schools suddenly a few years ago, after having been budgeted for decades.
Though the Knesset passed legislation to solve the budgetary problem, various legal interpretations kept the law from channeling municipal funding to Jerusalem's chareidi schools, in part because the janitors and other maintenance staff members are not employed by the municipality.
As a result, in March cleaning services were halted at Chinuch Atzmai and Maayan Hachinuch Hatorani schools in Jerusalem, and janitors were fired from schools that could not afford to pay their salary. Also, funds were unavailable to cover classroom heating costs and other vital needs.
