Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) on Wednesday warned that the start of the upcoming school year may be delayed due to unresolved funding issues.
While speaking at the Knesset’s Education Committee meeting, Kisch underscored that the budget issues were because the Finance Ministry and National Security Ministry had not finalized funding for school security.
“Without providing security for educational institutions, we will not begin the school year,” Kisch said at the committee meeting.
“I call on the Finance Ministry to wake up. After October 7, how will parents leave their children without security?” Education Committee chairperson Yosef Taieb (Shas) said in the meeting.
Zohar Ullman Yechizkel from the National Security Ministry told those at the committee that “the money is gone.”
“There is no more money,” Yechizkel stressed, adding that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was working to resolve the problem.
'Close up and go home'
Kisch also stressed that delaying the start of the school year would have significant financial consequences, which he claimed would cost more than providing funding for security measures at schools.
“If I were the Education Ministry, I would not open the school year in this situation,” Taieb said. “Close up and go home,” he added.
Kisch also mentioned the salary agreement called Ofek Hadash (New Horizons), which began in the public school system in 2008.
Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) schools were expected to enter the salary agreement, which was intended to enable salary raises for thousands of teachers in the two major haredi elementary school systems.
However, the agreements had not been reached with the Finance Ministry and Justice Ministry due to a number of key issues. Kisch told those at the committee meeting that expanding Ofek Hadash to include the haredi community “was not happening.”
He said the reason for this was due to the attorney-general’s interference, which he said “raised a lot of difficulties, many of which stem from an oppositional worldview toward the government.”
“The attempt to sabotage the haredi community is a serious mistake in my opinion. There was an opportunity here to advance the entire education system in the haredi community, and it is being prevented from us,” Kisch stated.
On Tuesday, a Finance Committee meeting took place to discuss reallocating millions of shekels of the state budget. Among the funds being approved for reallocation were millions of shekels in finances going toward haredi education.