A dispute over whether unused classrooms in public schools could be rented to a religious day school was resolved this weekend with a New York State Education Department ruling that the New York Board of Education had no right to rent such facilities.
The question involved a request by the Beth Jacob Schools, an Orthodox Jewish institution, to rent six classrooms in a public school in Brooklyn. Approval would have led to attendance by the public and religious school pupils in different classrooms in the same building. The plan was protested by the American Jewish Congress on grounds that it would breach the state constitutional ban on use of public property or money for denominational schools.
The ruling, by Dr. Charles A.Brind, counsel for the State Education Department, made no reference to the religious issue. He said a school board was not in the real estate business, and could not rent out its space. He added that it would be unwise and unsound to mingle public and parochial school pupils in a public school building, and that all kinds of problems would arise.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
