Education Committee Discusses Severe Gaps in School Construction Funding
Greenberg Warns: “A Catastrophe Is Imminent - The Funding Model Must Change Immediately”

Yesterday (Monday), a joint session of the Finance Committee and the Education, Culture and Sports Committee was held in the Knesset to address the funding gaps in the Ministry of Education’s school construction budget amid the ongoing conflict. Treasury officials claimed that tariffs could only be discussed during next year’s budget talks, but the committee chairs demanded the pricing committee be urgently convened to update outdated formulas, which are failing weaker municipalities that cannot afford to build classrooms to keep pace with population growth — as highlighted by Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg during the session.

Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Shmuel Greenberg, sounded a dire warning. He said "We are moments away from catastrophe. We're already short 200 classrooms for the upcoming school year. The Ministry of Education is funding only 24 classrooms - less than NIS 20 million. In the past, we could cover part of the gap with municipal funds, but rising construction costs due to the war mean that building those same 24 classrooms now costs NIS 35 million. When you're talking about 30 schools - these are massive gaps no local authority can bridge."
He continued “We're being forced to start the year with caravans instead of permanent classrooms, on land meant for real schools. ... Without changes to the funding model, we won't meet development goals and will find ourselves at the edge of a cliff.”

Deputy Mayor and Education Portfolio Holder, Yitzhak Elmalich, emphasized the depth of the crisis. He said "80% of my time is spent solely on construction. Where’s the space to work on educational vision, industrial zones, or other city development? If the State of Israel doesn’t dig deep and realize this is a national-scale crisis, we won’t be able to serve our residents. This is no longer a one-time event - it requires root-level reform."

City Treasurer Aryeh Berdugo presented alarming data. He said "We're building tens of thousands of housing units at full speed according to government directives, but construction budgets aren't keeping up with the population boom. While the building engine races ahead, funding lags behind - creating a gap that threatens our ability to provide proper education. Despite municipal efficiency plans, we can’t fix this without direct government aid."

Tzachi Lavi from the Israeli Builders Association added "Contractors are backing away from building schools and kindergartens - it's simply not profitable. It costs them 35% more than the government pays. The pricing model must be changed immediately."

Committee Chair MK Moshe Gafni concluded with a strong statement "This discussion exposed extremely serious funding gaps in cities that need to build dozens or even hundreds of classrooms per year. Slogans aren’t enough - the Finance Ministry must sit down this week, re-evaluate, and provide real funding sources for these municipalities. Otherwise, we’ll be facing an educational shutdown in major cities."