FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathan J. Diament
202-513-6484
March 5, 2009
UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS COMMENDS SECRETARY OF EDUCATION DUNCAN FOR BACKING
DC VOUCHER PROGRAM
Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, commended U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for his statements of support for the continuation of the school voucher program currently operating in Washington, DC.
In the face of efforts by congressional Democrats to kill the program through legislative language buried in the Omnibus Appropriations bill, Secretary Duncan stated “I don’t think it makes sense to take kids out of a school where they’re happy and safe and satisfied and learning…I think those kids need to stay in their school.” (for full article, please click here)
The Orthodox Union’s leadership sent a letter commending Secretary Duncan for these comments which reads as follows:
Dear Secretary Duncan,
On behalf of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, we write to express our appreciation for your statement in support of continuing the Washington, DC school voucher program.
As advocates of constitutionally permissible aid to empower parents to choose the best education for their children, we at the Orthodox Union are very pleased that you have put the needs of children ahead of political ideology. In these difficult economic times, it is even more difficult for parents to afford the school that will be best for their children, and government programs which assist parents in doing so promote the socially just goal of affording equal educational opportunity to all.
Mr. Secretary, we thank you for your outstanding leadership in the area of national educational concerns – and your views that we need to make all American schools great schools.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President
Nathan J. Diament, Director – Public Policy
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