Rockland County, NY – Tensions continue to escalate between public school and private school parents in the East Ramapo school district, as a group of public school parents and community activists are attempting to have five Orthodox school board members removed from their positions, saying that millions of dollars have been spent supporting private schools while neglecting the district’s public school students.
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According to The Journal News, The petition, filed by Advocates for Justice, which represents the petitioners, cites parental concern over financial decisions made by the board, including placing special needs students in private religious schools when appropriate public school placements were available, purchasing religious books to loan to private schools and selling public school property to religious schools at an amount below market value. Petitioners also criticized numerous cuts made by the board, including eliminating teachers, full day kindergarten programs and social workers as well as increasing class size.
Petitioners are requesting the removal of school board president Daniel Schwartz, vice president Yehuda Weissmandl and members Moses Friedman, Moshe Hopstein and Eliyahu Solomon. Currently, seven out of nine members of the school board are Orthodox Jews and private school parents.
The demographics in East Ramapo are unique: of 26,000 students enrolled in the district, 18,000 attend private schools and school board elections in the district have become an annual confrontation.
This cannot get to court soon enough. Looking forward to reading the judge’s comments when he throws it out.
That’s what voting is all about.
Fair representation.
The majority rules!
that’s what happens when you go overboard. I am a Monsey resident and this was just a matter of time before there was going to be an investigation.
No common sense have been used by the board. Mr. Weider started it and resigned-fired-voted out just in time but they pushed the issue and there will be a price to pay i am scared.
to number 2 as well.
You are kidding right?
If the majority of the people in NY State decided that yeshivas dont have enough of a secular curricullum (didnt we read something like that in Montreal) and that they all have to add math / science/ civics and English, even in high school (chas v’shalom) you’d say the majority rules or would you find another convenient argument to claim that the majority doesnt actually rule…
In our shul, you can’t be on the board if you’re not a member. Same with the Yeshivah. If these people don’t have children in the Public School system, they shouldn’t be representing them.
The last time I looked Orthodox Jews pay sky hi taxes in Rockland and send no children to public schools. I think it fair that some small benefits so back to the residents. This is just another case of a form of racism.
While “majority rules” is a good slogan, it may not apply here so much. I suppose the state constitution guarantees each child a good education. If the school board is denying public school children what is their right, no amount of voting can make that legal.
It seems to me that people in Monsey are sick and tired of paying into a system that gives nothing in return. A similar situation happened in Lawrence NY. The frum community took over the school board, froze property taxes, and consolidated waste, such as 2 schools operating at half capacity, combined into 1.
To #13
I live in Lawrence, and the school board here, while definitely cutting costs and combining schools, actually took the time to learn about the public schools and implemented changes that actually raised the test scores in the public schools. All they are able to give the private schools is busing and (secular) textbooks, and they even cut back the busing lately.
The petition, filed by Advocates for Justice, …, cites parental concern over financial decisions made by the board, including placing special needs students in private religious schools when appropriate public school placements were available, purchasing religious books to loan to private schools and selling public school property to religious schools at an amount below market value. Petitioners also criticized numerous cuts made by the board, including eliminating teachers, full day kindergarten programs and social workers as well as increasing class size
Bad financial decisions are not a basis for removal of elected officials. Think of the President and Congress.
Placing special needs students in private schools is done on a student-by-student basis. This was done for my son in a district with no religious people on the School Board.
What religious books would they be? Sounds unlikely that the public school purchased chumoshim and siddurim.
Sale of buildings would have been subject to opposition and litigation at the time. Sounds unlikely a consumated and paid-for purchase could be challenged.
Bottom line, all sounds like sour grapes.
I live in Monsey. I pay about $13,000 in property taxes. My kids all went to Yeshiva/Bais Yaakov. As can be seen from the demographics, over 50% of the kids in the school district attend private school. Before this new board came in, taxes went up constantly. If the numbers of kids going to the schools keeps going down, why did the budgets keep going up????
You’re all wrong.
The Majority rules. Public schooling does not have to exist, let everyone send to private schools.
It’s the teachers unions that are fighting.
My wife and I are 78 and 76 respectively. We live in Rockland County and of course we pay property taxes kedat ukedin. Our children are in their forties, so we have no “need” of the country’s public education system, but nevertheless we still continue to pay full taxes.
If *anyone* is entitled to a relief from, or a rebate of, the school taxes it is us!
I too pay property taxes that pays for education. I don’t like it and wish it was deducted from my tuition bills, but that’s the law in America.