With the start of the school year just one week away, fifteen municipal authorities throughout Israel have declared that the educational institutions in their jurisdictions will remain closed until the government reverses recently 
Management of the educational system will now be the responsibility of the central government.
approved cuts to the education budget.
Announcing their decision, the Forum of the 15 Largest Cities and the Municipal Governments Center sent a letter Monday to all the nation's municipalities saying that the management of the educational system will now be the responsibility of the central government.
"Starting on September 1, 2008, municipal employees will not be present at educational institutions, including kindergartens, with the exception of special education facilities. There will be no transportation to educational institutions, with the exception of special education facilities. Security guards will not be sent and no activity related to the operation of the education system will take place," the letter said. It further called on municipal employees to refuse to take part in any Education Ministry events marking the start of the new school year.
The decision of the municipalities was made following what the Forum termed "intolerable cuts." The national budget approved by the government includes an 85 million shekel cut in education, to be differentially implemented across the nation's municipalities over several months. According to the letter sent this week, "The planned one-sided cuts... are causing the municipalities to collapse and to be unable to fulfill their commitments."
Education Minister Yuli Tamir is slated to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday for discussions regarding the start of school year 5769 (2008-9). Tamir is expected to seek a resolution of the stand-off with the municipalities through a reduction in the planned cutbacks to her ministerial budget. In a July press statement, however, the Education Ministry said that the cuts were intended to cover a ministerial deficit from previous years.