The following is a letter by John H. Lang published in The Journal News Aug. 29, 2018:

“Re “Rockland: How good are the high school graduation rates?” July 5 article:

There was a time when the East Ramapo School District was academically at its very peak in Rockland County.

All that changed with continued downzoning and a rapid change in the population, as East Ramapo has come under the domination of an ultra-Orthodox community that does not use public schools and has shown no interest in ensuring fair funding. [Read more…]

Spring Valley Grads     Photo: John Meore/ The Journal News

Letter published in the Sunday Journal News
Re “Dire times for East Ramapo as budget fails,” June 21 Perspective:

The state and its monitors will continue their dedicated efforts to ensure quality programs in East Ramapo. But the article ends with the statement: “District taxpayers have to show the state that they share such a commitment.” [Read more…]

From The Journal News:
“East Ramapo was one of 16 budgets across the state that were defeated, according to the New York State School Boards Association. Within the Lower Hudson Valley, the only other proposals that failed were in New Rochelle and Brewster.

About six percent of registered voters came out in Clarkstown and North Rockland. South Orangetown saw about nine percent of its registered voters and Suffern Central had a turnout rate of about 14 percent. In East Ramapo, the participation rate was 16 percent. All numbers were lower than 2017.

Statewide, fewer people voted Tuesday, a trend the state school board association has been tracking over the last few years. Since 2012, when New York implemented a tax-levy cap on school budgets, fewer people are hitting the polls each spring.”

The following table from The Power of Ten demonstrates how the bloc vote once again defeated the budget. The data linked to polling sites show how Proposition #1 (the budget) fared:

Power of Ten Election Results by Polling Place

Please support the approval of the East Ramapo School Budget. To find your correct polling place, check here.

The following was posted by Journal News engagement editor Nancy Cutler in the Sunday Journal News.

“When East Ramapo school board president Yehuda Weissmandl asked at a May 23 special meeting why the panel couldn’t vote immediately to put the exact same budget plan up for a June 19 revote, the jam-packed room erupted in approving claps and cheers. [Read more…]

“For the upcoming school year, officials in East Ramapo have made several changes in how the district’s 33,500 students get to class each day.

Part of the changes include laying off its bus drivers, outsourcing the routes and increasing transportation for private schools on district holidays.

In late March, the school board voted to dissolve its transportation operations – which consisted of 17 employees and 18 vehicles, a move that, according to the proposed 2018-19 budget, will lead to a $1.7 million reduction in busing costs.

The bulk of student transportation in East Ramapo is already being handled by private bus carriers, with more than $30 million earmarked for regular routes, special needs students transports, field trips and athletics. [Read more…]

Deborah Wortham and Yehuda Weissmandl Photo: Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News

“A federal judge has denied the East Ramapo school district’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit demanding that the at-large voting method used to elect the school board be replaced with a geographic ward system.

Filed in November by a group of parents, the suit claims the at-large system has led to a lack of representation for minorities and seeks a system made up of nine single-member districts to be put in place.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit on behalf of parents, said U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel denied the district’s motion on April 13 and that the case will move forward. [Read more…]