Question of the Week: E. Ramapo monitor with veto
power
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, [email protected]
6:36 a.m. EST December 17, 2015
A panel has recommended a state monitor with power to veto the school board’s decision in East Ramapo
A panel that spent five months studying the workings of the struggling East Ramapo school district has
recommended a state monitor with power to veto the school board’s decisions.
The three­person panel, appointed by the state Department of Education, and headed by former New York
Buy Photo
(Photo: File photo by Ricky
Flores/The Journal News)
City chancellor Dennis Walcott, on Monday offered 19 reforms in a report titled, "Opportunity Deferred: A
Report on the East Ramapo."
The Board of Regents unanimously approved the recommendations.
The district has about 32,000 students, but roughly 24,000 of them attend private schools, mostly Orthodox
Jewish yeshivas. The board is controlled by members of the Orthodox community, who have been accused of directing resources to the private
schools at the expense of the district’s 8,000 public­school students, who are mainly black and Hispanic.
A monitor with veto power would have to be authorized by the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
We visited Ramapo Town Hall and a nearby shopping plaza and asked residents in the district: Should the state install a monitor with veto power?
Robert Lozier (Photo: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy)
“As a parent, I think the monitor should have veto power given what’s been going on in the district. So many programs have been cut. We have a
board whose kids don’t go to our school but they make all the decisions. Our kids can’t go to their schools. I don’t think it’s fair to our kids.” Robert
Lozier
Aley Abraham (Photo: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy)
“I definitely agree. My daughter went to the East Ramapo schools eight years ago, and she had a lot of benefits. My brother’s kids are studying there
now and it is entirely different. So many programs have been cut off. People have to wake up. It is worse than a third world country.” Aley Abraham
Rev. Mary Gibson (Photo: Swapna Venygopal Ramaswamy)
“At this stage of the game, someone needs to monitor what’s going on. Because for years, the children have been short changed.” Rev. Mary Gibson
Alexis Callan (Photo: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy)
“The taxes are sky high. And everyone in life has to pay their own way. The Hasidic community is not paying their own way. But look at their schools
and look at our schools. They get everything.” Alexis Callan
Asher Kaufman (Photo: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy)
“I think they should have done this years ago when the private school parents were not getting representation. The elected officials are trying to keep
the taxes low. The monitor should be fair to not just the school kids but also the taxpayers.” Asher Kaufman
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