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Security spending at many US Jewish schools has soared since Oct. 7 — study

Security spending has surged at many US Jewish schools since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, a study says.

Teach Coalition, a division of the Orthodox Union that operates in seven US states, compares spending at some of its member schools in the 2024-2025 school year to the 2022-2023 school year.

Average spending went from $184,228 per school to $339,297 per school, an 84% increase, the study finds. Per-pupil costs went from $445 to $807.

In New York, security spending doubled. The average New York school has spent $569,789 on security since the October 7 onslaught, an increase of 99%. Per-pupil spending increased 102%.

The top spending category is for security guards, accounting for 69% of security costs, followed by property improvements such as doors, and equipment such as radios and cameras.

Security has gone up from 1.85% of the schools’ total budget to 3.09%. Security costs increased at close to 10 times the rate of other costs, the survey says.

Smaller schools spend less in total on security, but have higher per-pupil expenses. Schools with fewer than 100 students have spent an average of $1,735 per student since October 7.

The researchers collated data provided by 63 schools in February and March. Most of the schools are in Florida and New York, while others are in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The schools range in size and enroll a total of 26,473 students, representing 10% of the total Jewish school enrollment in those states.

The responding schools are all among the members of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, meaning they are likely not representative of the US Jewish school system as a whole.