In A Fix

Akiva Hebrew Day School strives to turn around a financial fiasco.

F

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

first, to clear up the rumors: Akiva
Hebrew Day School teachers are get-
ting paid. "We have not missed a
payroll for eight years, maybe more,"
says Stuart Teger, Akiva president.
Now, the news: Detroit's only Orthodox
day school with a Zionist bent is floun-
dering in financial muck in an old build-
ing that needs a lift.
In fact, the Lathrup Village school ap-
pealed to the Jewish Federation of Met-
ropolitan Detroit for a handout. Federation
approved a $50,000 grant late last week,
according to Mr. Teger.
This year, Federation gave a total of
$1.25 million to four local day schools: Ald-
va, Hillel, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah and
Yeshiva Gedolah, according to Judah
Isaacs, senior planning associate at Fed-
eration.
Akiva received $305,000 plus the
$50,000 grant.
The grant comes with a stipulation that
Akiva report back to Federation on how it
will address its current financial needs
and how it will correct any future short-
fall.
Federation gives funds to the day
schools on a monthly basis, but in Akiva's
case, Federation has made an exception,

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allowing the school "to take our allocations
as we need them," Mr. Teger says.
Akiva suffers from debt and a shortage
in its operating budget. At the moment,
the school's leaders are more concerned
with the latter.
"Right now, [in] our budget — with the
money from Federation — we have
$300,000 less than we need to get through
the rest of this year," says Mr. Teger.
Part of the debt came from a costly sev-
erance package for Akiva's last principal,
Rabbi Zev Shimansky. But that was "an
added expense that we took on — we
chose not to renew his contract," says Mr.
Teger.
Combine that with a loss of tuition
money when about 20 high-school stu-
dents left the school — for other schools,
other states or Israel. Currently, 305 stu-
dents attend Akiva.
To stem the loss of students, the school
brought in Rabbi Karmi Gross as princi-
pal, says Dr. David Beneson, immedi-
ate past president.
In only his second year at Akiva, "Rab-
bi Gross has done a tremendous job

of improving the high school and
improving the curriculum. Some par-
ents are looking into bringing their
kids back," says Dr. Beneson.
For a few years, Akiva has asked par-
ents to pre-pay the following year's tuition,
according to Mr. Teger and Dr. Beneson.
That pattern has "become a snowball
rolling down a hill," says Mr. Teger.
In the 1995-96 school year, "we took
something in excess of $325,000 of tuition
that should have been paid in 1996-'97,
and we used it to pay '95-'96 expenses."
As a step toward resolving the school's

Akiva Hebrew Day School suffers from
considerable debt and the problems of a 70-
year-old building.

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financial quagmire, tuition has been in-
creased for the 1997-'98 academic year, in
addition to rises this year.
Next year, high-school tuition will be
$6,000 a year, says Mr. Teger, up from
$5,650. Grades six through eight will run
$5,175, compared to $4,850 this year, and
first through fifth grades will be $4,575
instead of $4,300. Kindergarten will re-
main at $3,400.
Mr. Teger acknowledges that "parents
are assuming responsibility for getting out
of this [financial dilemma]." But, he says,
parents are also the school's "biggest con-

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