Letter from Meera Kamegai to the Board of Temple Beth Am, January 17, 2007

January 17, 2007 To the Board: In one last attempt to save our Temple, I am sending you this message. Our financial situation continues to be bleak, and I assure you with all my heart, both Sue and I have worked desperately, as have many others, to find a way for all of us to come out of this situation, and keep alive our Congregational family. We have absolutely no other motive to do so. That anyone would think otherwise is beyond my belief. At this point, even the infusion of $100,000 from the Rabbi will not be enough to cover our costs over the next two months. Les Jacobs continues to discover unpaid invoices from vendors. The majority of the Board has voted to terminate the services of the heads of both the Shenker Academy and the Lied Center, the two centers which generate virtually all the operational revenue for TBA, and ask our Controller to accept a significant pay deferment. The consequences of that action are yet to be determined, however I fear that they will be quite grave. With respect to the Shenker Academy, we cannot afford another significant loss such as TBA has suffered before due to the loss of students and teachers at Shenker. It was almost two years before we began to recover from the loss of our students and teachers, primarily through the diligence and hard work of Diane Wright. Be that as it may, the majority of you have voted to terminate her. I truly believe that is a grave mistake, as Diane has not only been a loyal employee of TBA, but has done remarkable things to make our school stand out among early childhood educational centers in our area. However, as I said, you have made your decision, and the consequences will be whatever they are. As for the Adult Day Care Center, that is truly a travesty. As of last ApriLMay, the Board, including the Rabbi and Micki, were insistent upon shutting it down. The argument was that the Center was draining all the financial resources from TBA, costing thousands of dollars monthly to operate. Only because of the misfortune of the Economic Opportunity Board, and the ability of Jeff Klein and Sue Rhodes to negotiate the transfer of the property at Jones/Washington from the EOB to TBA?property valued at approximately $3.5 million?at no cost to TBA, was the Beth Am adult day care operation able to be salvaged at that time. Even after acquiring the Lied Center, members of the then-Board determined that no TBA funds could be used for operational or renovation expenses, and that if the Center did not show a profit within one year, it would be shut down. Now, within five months at the Lied location, the Center is the primary revenue generator which is supporting TBA as a whole. Jeff Klein has personally brought in over $550,000 in new grant funds, obtained Medicaid licensure for the facility, increased the overall revenue of the client base, and taken the Center to a new level not previously even imagined, and has established a reputation as one of the finest ADC operators in the State. However the majority of you have voted to terminate his services. There will most certainly be consequences to that action. Not only will the Lied Center itself suffer, but the elderly and disabled clients it serves, along with the reputation of TBA. However, that is how you voted, and I am disappointed, sad, and shamed. Les Jacobs, our Controller, is not obligated to accept any pay deferment, as he is under contract. If we terminate him, I believe we will have a significant financial obligation to pay out his contract, and will then be left without the services of an excellent, qualified accountant, which is what TBA desperately requires. The severity of our financial problems are not new. They were first brought out in the audit which was done in 2003, which was the last audit ever done. That in itself is inexcusable. It was not until the Board discovered that $100,000 was missing and unaccounted from the TBA account (this shortly after the reported thefts of thousands of dollars of cash from the Temple office), last June, that Lynda Keeton-Card no was brought in. She quickly discovered that the Board had been grossly misled about TBA?s financial condition, and had no capabilities for adequate accounting. It was she, along with Mike Sexton, VP of Nevada State Bank, who recommended Les Jacobs for the Controller job, and there was no question that, with about $2.1 million in revenues coming through TBA, we required this level of fiscal oversight in order to stand up to the financial policies and audits TBA will be required to undergo due to the receipt of large amounts of grant funds. I strongly believe that a vote to eliminate this position, or to try to do away with it by opting for a lesser quality of oversight, is a bad, inappropriate business decision, particularly given the sorry state of finances for the Temple. Then there is the issue of check forgeries. I cannot tell you how I feel about this as I take this as such a personal violation. I have spoken with Sue and she is heart-sick that after all her years of service to this Temple, anyone would forge her signature for any reason. There can be no reason, in my mind, for someone to do this. But I will not comment further, as that is a matter for the police to decide. Who is responsible for this mess? I guess we all have a part to play?the many members of the TBA Board over the years for allowing matters to go on and get out of hand and not be willing to take action when necessary; those who chose to walk away, wash their hands and do and say nothing because they were sick and tired of all the fighting and name-calling,' the Rabbi and Rebbetzen who have made poor business decisions and then expect everyone to follow their instructions just because. Did any of you not wonder why the Board had so many vacancies when you were all recently nominated to it? Every former President of TBA that I know of no longer remains involved in Tempe affairs. These types of problems we are now facing are sadly not new to this organization. Over the years, there has been a large reduction in TBA membership because of this. Do you really believe it is our goal to persecute the Rabbi and Rebbetzen and keep the Temple administration in a constant state of war? As congregants, you do not see the irregularities carried on until you become Board members; you hear the Rabbi?s inspired sermons and thoughtful interpretation of the Torah. Why have all of these ?persecutions? occurred among those who have been his most loyal followers? This has to stop. I beg you to please carefully consider what you are doing. We must pull together to save our Temple or we will not have a Temple to save. I have no intention of stepping down from the Board, nor does Sue, as we have done nothing to violate our duty as Trustees and Officers, and have always acted responsibly, thoughtfully, and with fiduciary responsibility for the interests of TBA. Meera Kamegai President