The crisis of kindergarten teachers in the ultra-Orthodox community: Six directors of the leading kindergarten chains in the ultra-Orthodox cities of Modiin Illit and Beitar Illit sent a letter today (Tuesday) to Education Minister Yoav Kish, the mayors and members of the Knesset - declaring: "The upcoming school year will not open.".
In the letter, the kindergarten network directors announce that if a real and immediate solution is not found to the 'kindergarten teacher crisis', the upcoming school year will not open in the kindergarten networks.
Thus, the crisis that began in the Agudat Israel kindergarten network is expanding and is now becoming a comprehensive threat to kindergarten networks in Haredi cities.
The letter is signed by: Israel Goldknopf, director of the 'Gani Beit Yaakov' network; Avraham Maklev, director of the 'Gani Etz Hadaat' network; Gil David, director of the 'Gani Merzac' network; Yaakov Rosenstein, director of the 'Gani Morasha' network; Israel Golomb, director of the 'Agoyi' network of kindergartens; Gila Malachovsky, director of the 'Gani Hoshen' network.
In the letter, the chain managers write that they see the serious crisis as one that affects all kindergarten chains: "We are all in the same boat. It is completely clear to all of us that even those of the owners who have not reached a decision to close kindergartens now will reach the same dead end exactly one year from now.".
In the letter, they make it clear that in the wake of the worrying developments in the kindergarten networks, they do not intend to stand idly by. "The dedicated kindergarten teachers, who have worked in the city for many years and do a sacred job in educating our daughters, deserve to receive the terms of the 'New Horizon' reform by merit, not by grace.".
Because of this, the network managers informed the Minister of Education that if the issue is not resolved, all of the networks that signed the letter will go on strike and will not open the next school year, 2017. "We call for your immediate and urgent intervention in order to prevent the shutdown of the education system in the Haredi cities.".
The crisis developed after a delegation of about 150 veteran kindergarten teachers sent a letter to Knesset members and senior government officials in recent days, demanding immediate intervention to save the kindergarten chains, stop the wave of layoffs, and prevent the closure of dozens of kindergartens, which they claim were forced on the chains due to the Ministry of Education's ongoing problematic conduct.
According to the kindergarten teachers, these are women who have dedicated decades to education, gained extensive professional experience, and invested their best years in the system - and now they are discovering that the very seniority, training, and education they have acquired over the years, instead of standing to their credit, are becoming the reason why they may lose their position.
This is because kindergarten budgeting is done based on arbitrary average kindergarten teacher seniority and work assumptions set by the Ministry of Education, with no connection to reality on the ground. This is how it happens that a kindergarten teacher who has invested many years in training and professionalization and has accumulated 30 years of seniority, receives a salary only as a certified kindergarten teacher - a minimum rank, and for only 16 years of seniority.
In a letter they sent, the kindergarten teachers wrote: "A cruel and terrible situation has been created - the better, more experienced, and more knowledgeable we kindergarten teachers are, the more money the network loses on us. The system creates a built-in distortion in which keeping a veteran kindergarten teacher is a 'financial punishment' for the network, and pushes the management against its will, out of budgetary lack of choice, to fire us.".
""Make no mistake: this is not a local crisis. This is a systemic failure that will soon reach all networks in the country. If the Ministries of Education and Finance give in to this injustice, additional education networks will soon face the same collapse. A horrific precedent will be set here in which a teaching staff member will know that accumulating seniority and experience is a death sentence for her livelihood. Is this the theory of education? Is this the public morality of the State of Israel?""
According to the kindergarten teachers, responsibility for the situation does not lie with the chain managements, who are forced to close hundreds of kindergartens without a suitable replacement for the children in the sector.
The main issue that the kindergarten teachers point to as having led to the situation is the delay in regulating the 'New Horizon' program in kindergartens. According to them, implementing the program and completing the budget outline will provide an immediate response to the gaps that have arisen and prevent the collapse of the veteran kindergarten teacher employment system.
In their letter, the kindergarten teachers presented three main demands:
Full budgeting according to seniority: Obligation of the Ministries of Education and Finance to budget kindergartens according to the actual seniority, education, and rank of each kindergarten teacher, as is customary in the official education system.
Immediate series of 'New Horizon': Completing the budget outline that will enable the implementation of the program in the kindergarten network as early as the 2017 school year, and will prevent heavy losses due to the employment of veteran kindergarten teachers.
Immediate freeze of dismissal: Urgent intervention by the Ministries of Education and Finance, and the provision of a temporary budgetary safety net that will allow the layoffs to be stopped until a permanent solution is formulated.
