Spring Valley, NY – In a district where the number of students attending nonpublic schools – namely, yeshivas and other Jewish schools – is nearly double that of the public school population, the candidates’ ties to either public or nonpublic school communities have come under particular scrutiny. East Ramapo school district voters will decide Tuesday on a $187.2 million budget and three contested school board races.
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The proposed budget represents a spending increase of nearly $8.4 million or about 4.7 percent. The new budget, school officials said, will pay for new programs and technology for the public schools and more special education and health staff for nonpublic schools.
There are two candidates vying for each of the three vacant seats on the school board.
Continuing to vie a seat are Aron Wieder of Monsey and Suzanne Young-Mercer of Spring Valley. Young-Mercer is the mother of a Spring Valley High School graduate. Wieder has two children in nonpublic schools
Wieder said he was running with the goal of bridging “the gap that currently exists between the private education and the public school sectors.”
“In the end of the day, we all have to address the same issues and we share common goals, which is the education for the future of our children,” he said. [nynews]