The 2019-2020 school year saw 158,481 students from kindergarten through 12th grade enrolled in Jewish schools across New York State. This is a slight increase from the 156,113 students that were enrolled the previous year, and a 10.7% rise from the 143,156 students that were enrolled for the school year starting September 2014.
The data was compiled by the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) from records made available by the New York State Department of Education. This is the 7th consecutive year that OJPAC publishes this data series.
“The increase in Jewish school enrollment last year is the slowest that it has been in a while and reflects a mass exodus to New Jersey,” says Yossi Gestetner, a co-founder of OJPAC. “This slowdown confirms anecdotal evidence that the real estate market in the Jewish communities of Rockland and Orange counties had cooled off last year from the frenzy it experienced in 2018, but school enrollment in these areas are still growing strong.”
The counties with the most K-12 students in Jewish schools last school year were:
Brooklyn/Kings County with 84,771 students; a rise of 5.7% from 80,132 students five years earlier.
The data was compiled by the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) from records made available by the New York State Department of Education. This is the 7th consecutive year that OJPAC publishes this data series.
“The increase in Jewish school enrollment last year is the slowest that it has been in a while and reflects a mass exodus to New Jersey,” says Yossi Gestetner, a co-founder of OJPAC. “This slowdown confirms anecdotal evidence that the real estate market in the Jewish communities of Rockland and Orange counties had cooled off last year from the frenzy it experienced in 2018, but school enrollment in these areas are still growing strong.”
The counties with the most K-12 students in Jewish schools last school year were:
Brooklyn/Kings County with 84,771 students; a rise of 5.7% from 80,132 students five years earlier.
Rockland County with 29,697 students; a rise of 25.7% from 23,618 students five years earlier.
Orange County with 14,465 students; a rise of 31.5% from 10,997 students five years earlier.
Queens County with 11,815 students; an increase of 12.4% from 10,502 students five years earlier.
Nassau County with 8,043 students; an increase of 6% from 7,592 students five years earlier.
Manhattan/New York County with 4,422 students; virtually unchanged from 4,360 students five years earlier.
Non-public school enrollment in New York last school year was 390,779; a drop from the 405,527 mark five years earlier. Jewish Community schools made up 40.5% of non-public enrollment last year; up from its 35.3% share five years prior.
In Rockland County, Jewish Community school enrollment is 93% of non-public K-12 enrollment and approximately 41.5% of all K-12 student enrollment in the county. In Orange County, Jewish Community schools make up 82.5% of all non-public school K-12 enrollment and 18.6% of total K-12 student enrollment in the county. (The Public School count runs one year behind in this report as the state has yet to release the September 2019 numbers broken down by county).
Students attending non-public schools in New York receive on average less than $1,500 in tax-funded services a year, as opposed to more than $23,000 for each public school student. This $21,500 gap in tax funds between non-public and public school students adds up to $3.4 billion a year. Some students in New York City receive vouchers worth thousands of dollars a year, but even with this and other adjustments, Yeshiva students save taxpayers more than $3 billion in annual school funding statewide. This is enough to cover Medicaid for more than one million children.
Orange County with 14,465 students; a rise of 31.5% from 10,997 students five years earlier.
Queens County with 11,815 students; an increase of 12.4% from 10,502 students five years earlier.
Nassau County with 8,043 students; an increase of 6% from 7,592 students five years earlier.
Manhattan/New York County with 4,422 students; virtually unchanged from 4,360 students five years earlier.
Non-public school enrollment in New York last school year was 390,779; a drop from the 405,527 mark five years earlier. Jewish Community schools made up 40.5% of non-public enrollment last year; up from its 35.3% share five years prior.
In Rockland County, Jewish Community school enrollment is 93% of non-public K-12 enrollment and approximately 41.5% of all K-12 student enrollment in the county. In Orange County, Jewish Community schools make up 82.5% of all non-public school K-12 enrollment and 18.6% of total K-12 student enrollment in the county. (The Public School count runs one year behind in this report as the state has yet to release the September 2019 numbers broken down by county).
Students attending non-public schools in New York receive on average less than $1,500 in tax-funded services a year, as opposed to more than $23,000 for each public school student. This $21,500 gap in tax funds between non-public and public school students adds up to $3.4 billion a year. Some students in New York City receive vouchers worth thousands of dollars a year, but even with this and other adjustments, Yeshiva students save taxpayers more than $3 billion in annual school funding statewide. This is enough to cover Medicaid for more than one million children.
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