Of Private/Religious School Vouchers, the IRS, Scientology, and Orthodox Jews...

[applejuice]

In 1997, Michael Sklar and family filed suit in Federal Tax court with Attorney Jeffery Zuckerman arguing that the tuition paid was a charitable contribution and could be deducted because his children received an "intangible religious benefit".

The case is based on Sklar's filing of an amended 1991 tax filing in which he wrote off some of the cost of his children's religious schooling; it is based on the IRS's allowance of deductions of the members of the Church of Scientology to write off the cost of spiritual counseling sessions and the First Amendment's prohibition of discriminating on the basis of religion.

Sklar represented himself in the first round, and then found himself before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the tax court ruling. The current law suit is before Judge John O. Colvin; no testimony from Scientologists is being allowed nor is there any comment from that corner.

A copy of the 1993 agreement between the IRS and Scientology was leaked to the Wall Street Journal.

Just thought those of you interested in school vouchers and private schools would like to know about this case.

Just when you thought you heard it all, there is something new!

[merpk]

applejuice, am wondering what Orthodox Jews have to do with your post. Some OJ's support vouchers, some do not. So do Evangelical Christian groups, though. So why the OJ's in the thread title?

:

[crazy_eights]

I believe b/c she is saying if this is upheld we would be able to write off our day school tuition. That would be SOMETHING at least (also sounds like the person who originally filed *might* have had his kid in a Jewish school).

[applejuice]

Yes, Mom2Six, the original plaintiff in the case, Michael and Marla Sklar are Orthodox Jews in Los Angeles. They filed, as I believe I already stated, amended 1991 tax returns in 1993 to claim a portion of their children's tuition as a charitiable contribution based on the secret agreement struck in 1993 between the IRS and the Church of Scientology. The gist of the agreement was leaked to the Wall Street Journal and may become part of the case.

Jeffery Zuckerman, attorney for the plaintiffs stated that:

"Every practitioner of every religion has the right to deduct religious instruction if the Church of Scientology is allowed to do that."


Merpk, I am aware that most Orthodox Jews are against vouchers for private/religious schools ( as are some, not all, homeschoolers), however, the plaintiff here is an Orthodox Jew and is trying to make some kind of point, I believe.

I simply thought that most people on this board may be interested in following up on a case as this

I read it in the Los Angeles Daily News, November 9, 2004 page 4 First section.

[crazy_eights]

Actually, I know quite a number of Orthodox that are pro-voucher as it would help out with day school tuition. I certainly wouldn't say 'most' are against.

[miriam]

*

[merpk]

Thanks for the clarification, a'juice.

Yeah. I wouldn't say most are against them either.

Personally, I'm against them. Don't think they'd help with tuition, either, because the schools would just jack up tuition however much they're getting from the vouchers.

:sigh

Doesn't mean I wouldn't like the help, just don't think they'd be any.




Interesting case. The secret agreement thing is fascinating. Had never ever heard of it before.



Oh yeah, it was secret. Wasn't supposed to hear of it.

Oops.

[TiredX2]

The secret agreement thing is fascinating. Had never ever heard of it before.

Well, if you had, it wouldn't be a *secret*! :LOL

[crazy_eights]

Originally Posted by merpk

Don't think they'd help with tuition, either, because the schools would just jack up tuition however much they're getting from the vouchers.

Not sure that would be true, but maybe. Several cities (Seattle is one, I think also Atlanta?) have programs in place where charitable foundations have been set up to subsidize day school tuition in the Jewish community. Note this is *not* a scholarship program, but across the board subsidy for each kid in a Jewish day school. So in these places not only has the tuition gone down, but Seattle has seen their high school enrollement double in the Jewish high school since the program was started as it brought the tuition down to where more people were willing to consider sending their kids to the high school.

England has always had public funding for their day schools - no church/state issue there. Their day schools are well funded, have access to text books and teachers, etc from the education fund, tuition is affordable, teachers well paid and the schools are well attended. Sounds good to me!

[applejuice]

Actually, in my neck of the woods, Dennis Prager has sent his three children to OJ Day schools, and he has written and spoken in favor of school vouchers.

The Conservative Shul I attended had a Rebbinitz who was a high school English teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, so both the RAbbi and his wife were rabidly against vouchers and spoke out very strongly against them.

I never told them that I was homeschooling my youngest exclusively nor that my oldest three were sporadically homeschooled.

That is interesting about English Day Schools. I do know that somehow they are better funded and organized and have better results than our schools, but I did not know how (I did work in London schools for a while). The American Public School system, from my reading and research, is based on an old Prussian (despotic?) system that is obsessed with recordkeeping and attendance; Horace Mann had gone to Prussia in the 1820's to 1830's to find a school system to emulate.

I do believe that Americans were still trying to distinguish themselves from the English at that point in time.

Anyway, thank you, and hope this case can have its day.