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NEWS
Chinuch Atzmai School in Or Yehuda Spared Third
Electricity Cutoff
By A. Cohen
Following several days of concerted efforts, the threat of
cutting off the electricity for the third time was removed at
Michtav L'Eliyahu, a Chinuch Atzmai school in Or Yehuda,
after the Dessler family, the descendants of HaRav Eliyohu
Dessler zt"l, responded to a request by Rabbi Avrohom
Yosef Lazerson, one of the heads of Chinuch Atzmai, to pay
the school's electricity bill.
A few weeks ago the electricity was disconnected at the
school after the Or Yehuda Municipality refused to pay the
electricity bill, claiming that it was not legally allowed to
do so since the amendment to the Local Authorities Law has
yet to go into effect since the Education Ministry has not
drawn up regulations. Due to broad public pressure
Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer promised that
the Electric Corporation would extend the school's payment
deadline until the end of February.
Just days before the deadline, the Interior Ministry's legal
advisor sent a letter promising that once the parameters of
the Local Authorities Law — which requires (and allows)
local authorities pay 75 percent of maintenance costs at
chareidi schools — are set, the matter of the bill for
electrical usage since the start of 2008 would be settled.
However, a solution had not been found for outstanding bills
for last year, which amount to NIS 30,000 ($8,300) and
mushroomed to NIS 40,000 ($11,000) with fines. Recently it
was suggested the school's parent committee cover the bill,
but that proposal was rejected.
Last week Lazer Fuchs, the Electric Corporation's manager for
the Central District, sent an urgent letter to Rabbi Lazerson
saying that he had been instructed by the CEO to disconnect
the electricity if the debt was not paid by February 28th.
"Following your moving letter of Wednesday, February 27th, I
postponed executing the disconnection until this morning in
order to spare the students unnecessary suffering and to give
the arrangement made a chance to be carried out. I was
surprised today by the fact that the payment had not been
executed and certainly this is a deep disappointment for both
of us. In summary, as much as it pains me, the Electric
Corporation will be forced to carry out the disconnection
tomorrow morning at 8:00 am in the event the debt is not
settled."
Upon receiving the letter at the Chinuch Atzmai offices,
Rabbi Lazerson immediately contacted the Dessler family in
the US and told them about the dire situation facing the
school named after HaRav Eliyohu Dessler zt"l, noting
that cutting off the electricity for the third time could
have a disastrous, irreversible effect on parents. The school
stood to incur major financial losses, especially at this
time of year when registration for the next school year is in
full swing.
The Dessler family responded by sending notice it would cover
the NIS 40,000 debt and Rabbi Lazerson then notified Mr.
Fuchs of the Electric Corporation, who cancelled the
disconnection order.
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