East Ramapo Monitor Plan Out of Education Committee

Many in Rockland have been calling for intervention since state-appointed fiscal monitor Hank Greenberg said it was needed to repair East Ramapo schools and reverse bad decisions by its Board of Education.

“The district’s finances teeter on the edge of disaster,” he wrote in his November 2014 report, East Ramapo: A School District in Crisis.

This week, a bill to authorize such intervention passed the state Assembly Education Committee.

“Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski and I would like to thank all the members of the Assembly Education Committee who voted in support of our legislation ( A. 5355), authorizing the State Education Department to appoint a state monitor to oversee the East Ramapo Central School District,” said New York State Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffe.

With just six session days left, it is imperative that the bill move as quickly as possible through the next two committees, Ways and Means and Rules, before coming to the floor for a full vote and ensuring its passage, she said. “The children and families of East Ramapo are counting on us.”

She thanked the diverse group of organizations and the faith-based community supporting the monitor plan, including the American Jewish Committee, Reform Jewish Voice of New York, the Rockland Board of Rabbis, the Rockland School Boards Association, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the Alliance for Quality Education.

“My colleagues in the Assembly stepped up for Rockland’s kids,” said Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski. “This vote was a tremendous first step toward providing positive oversight and change in this district. Our bill has garnered tremendous support over the past few weeks from education, legal, religious and civil rights advocates. As we move forward, I am hopeful all sides of this issue will realize the status quo is unacceptable.”

RELATED:

• UPDATE: East Ramapo School Officials React to Fake Tuition Reimbursement Letter
• East Ramapo School Budget Proposal Restores Past Cuts
• Day in Albany Over East Ramapo Schools Monitor Bill

Intervention is opposed by district officials and many in the hasidic community, whose members control the school board. The idea has faced resistance in Albany this legislative session.

Some of the issues Greenberg identified in his report to the New York Education Department include:

• The district, which includes parts of the communities of New City, Pearl River, Nanuet, Spring Valley, Suffern, New Hempstead, Chestnut Ridge, Monsey and Wesley Hills, has 9,000 students in its schools. However, another 24,000 school-age children live there, and go to private schools—mostly yeshivas.
• The district is classified as low-resource, high-need by the state—many of its private-school children are classified special-need and 78 percent of its public-school students are poor enough to qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program.
• Its student body lags well behind the county average for academic performance.
• The district spends more on special education, transportation and administration than the state average, he said. It has the highest rate of budget-rejection by voters, too.
• Most of the board members are representatives of the private school community.
• Cuts made to school spending have disproportionately affected the public school children over the private school children.
• There is little understanding and no trust between the ethnic groups in the district.

Greenberg recommended the state reform the district’s governance structure, give it more money, and require the trustees take remedial training to improve compliance with Open Meeting laws and their ability to deal with a multi-cultural environment.