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East Ramapo trial: Judge wants Rabbi Oshry arrested if he doesn’t show up to testify

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East Ramapo School District in Federal Court UPDATE. The Journal News February 24

“The federal judge presiding over a voting rights case involving the East Ramapo school board on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbi who has so far resisted efforts to get him to testify.

U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel gave Rabbi Yehuda Oshry until Thursday morning to appear in White Plains or face arrest.

“I don’t think he can hide in his house forever,” Seibel said Tuesday. “He’s just inviting incarceration if he doesn’t come today or tomorrow.” [Read more…]

“Orthodox community could have just voted you out”: East Ramapo school board president

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East Ramapo School District in Federal Court UPDATE  The Journal News February 21

Photo of Harry Grossman

Harry Grossman School Board President Photo: Yated.com

“East Ramapo school board president Harry Grossman faced mounting questions on Friday about his behind-the-scenes communications with Orthodox Jewish religious leaders and other members of the board.

In 2016, Grossman told fellow board member Sabrina Charles-Pierre, a black public school parent, to remember that she could be voted out at any time.

He repeated the message at least six times between April and August of that year, according to Facebook messages entered into evidence by lawyers for the NAACP.

“If there really was any desire by anybody to remove you from the board, all that would need to be done was to run a candidate against you,” said Grossman in message from July of 2016. “Orthodox community could have just voted you out in May.” [Read more…]

East Ramapo trial: Judge attacks testimony of school board president Harry Grossman

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East Ramapo School District in Federal Court UPDATE  The Journal News Feb. 20

Photo of Harry Grossman

Harry Grossman School Board President Photo: Yated.com

“The federal judge deciding a voting rights challenge by the NAACP attacked the testimony of the president of the East Ramapo school board Thursday, suggesting he crafted his testimony to avoid telling all he knew about the role Orthodox Jewish leaders play in board elections.

U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel, responding to an objection by a lawyer for the East Ramapo Central School District, offered her take on the testimony of board president Harry Grossman.

“I’m offended by what I’ve seen here today,” Seibel said. “And I think anybody who reads plain English would feel the same way.

“I cannot tell a lie,” Seibel added. “I do think this witness is not credible.” [Read more…]

What’sApp Chat reveals behind the scenes effort by Orthodox Jewish religious leaders NYCLU says

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East Ramapo School District Board in Federal Court UPDATE

“Lawyers for the NAACP on Tuesday used private conversations from the WhatsApp messaging platform to bolster their claims that Orthodox Jewish leaders led a behind-the-scenes effort to dominate seats on the East Ramapo Central School District board.

Excerpts of conversations between Harry Grossman, the district’s school board president, and others were introduced as evidence in a federal voting rights trial that will decide whether the district’s system for electing its school board members limits the participation of blacks and Latinos.

Among the conversations was a 2017 exchange between Grossman and Rabbi Hersh Horowitz, the executive director of the Monsey-based Community Outreach Center. [Read more…]

Candidate’s ‘master plan’ comment exposes tensions in East Ramapo voting rights trial

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Eric Goodman Photo: Eric Goodman

East Ramapo School District Board in Federal Court: UPDATE

“Eric Goodwin was on his way home in May 2017, as voters headed to the polls to pick the winning candidates for seats on the East Ramapo Central School District board.

Goodwin, a candidate for the board that year, noticed buses streaming into voting sites in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods near his Nanuet home.

When he got home, Goodwin tapped out a post on his Facebook page:

“The night before the election an(d) those who want to keep the balance of power in their favor. Spending the night at your religious establishments will not mask your master plan. East Ramapo is watching your every move.”

Goodwin lost the election that year. [Read more…]

Millions still flowing to St. Lawrence’s RLDC

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Money vacuumYou would think that as fast as St. Lawrence and his attorney were pedaling in the courtroom in White Plains, trying to outrun the 22 felony charges from the Dept of Justice, that he wouldn’t have time to continue to siphon public money to his bankrupt RLDC. So much for common sense. While St. Lawrence and his attorney, Michael Burke, were looking over perspective jurors, his corrupt machine was still still cranking up the giant sucking sound at Town Hall on Route 59, vacuuming millions in public assets. At the other end of the pipe, almost six million was blowing in at the RLDC office over at the ballpark.  [Read more…]

Joe Chajmovicz resigns from East Ramapo school board

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“For the second time in 10 months, the East Ramapo school board has a seat to fill — and it’s the same seat.

Joe Chajmovicz, who was picked in July 2016 to fill the remainder of Yakov Engel’s term, submitted his resignation in a letter, dated Jan. 31, to the district clerk, stating he was no longer able to serve.

His resignation is effective Feb. 1, according to the letter. [Read more…]

Takeaways from the East Ramapo monitors’ report

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Ramapo High School Photo/The Journal News

“If the state does not continue to provide a $3 million allocation in aid this year to East Ramapo, the school district will have to cut universal kindergarten and art classes in elementary schools, which are two programs that were just restored in the fall, according to a report by the district’s monitors.

In “A New Beginning,” which was released Tuesday morning by the state Education Department, monitors Charles Szuberla and John Sipple report on steps taken by the East Ramapo district over the last year to turn itself around, outline priorities and identify challenges that lie ahead. [Read more…]

No, the East Ramapo lawsuit has not been dismissed

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The headline in a Journal News story last week mistakenly claimed: East Ramapo: Federal Court dismisses bias suit. To begin with, the class-action lawsuit brought by the parents and students of the district against the East Ramapo board is not a bias suit. Secondly, the case, called Montesa v Schwartz, brought by numerous parents continues in the court of Supreme Court Justice Cathy Seibel, where it is scheduled for a decision for or against an order for injunctive relief against the East Ramapo Board sometime next month. The decision reported on last week was the decision of the Appeals Court to exclude the students from the lawsuit. Two of three judges on the panel decided the students didn’t have standing to sue because they were not “directly impacted” by the Board’s improper decisions on spending, and, therefore they should not be allowed to proceed. [Read more…]

If East Ramapo didn’t harm our children, we wouldn’t sue

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This is a response, posted in The Journal News, to Joseph Petlin’s complaint about lawsuits directed at the East Ramapo School Board. Petlin is the Superintendent of Schools in Kiryas Joel.

East Ramapo did not have any problem with legal fees before the school board was taken over by people who favor the interests of the nonpublic schools. One of the first things they did was to get rid of the district’s a longstanding lawyer, Stephen Fromson, and replace him with a law firm charging over twice as much. This law firm worked with the rogue school board to spend public dollars on tuition in private schools. This resulted in citations by the state education department and loss of state funding. [Read more…]