I recall Lookjed list discussions about Hebrew language Charter Schools and about sending kids to public school and arranging for Torah classes in the afternoon. Now there is a new suggestion on the table - a "no frills" day school that would offer "larger class size than at most day schools, and fewer costly expenditures like extracurricular activities and state-of-the-art technology." - see the Jewish Week article here -
[www.thejewishweek.com]

While I recognize the need to think creatively given the current economic realities, the proverbial question - "is it good for the Jews?" - needs to be asked.

What will this do to existing day schools?
And wouldn't start-up costs be so high that we would be better served to offer more generous scholarships in order to keep our students in the schools that are already running - and suffering from the economic downturn themselves?

Abie