The East Ramapo school board has been overseen by state monitors for years after it slashed millions in public school funds to bankroll private religious education.
The East Ramapo school board has been overseen by state monitors for years after it slashed millions in public school funds to bankroll private religious education. ·  View in browser
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East Ramapo budget cuts have contributed to to high dropout rates, chronic absenteeism, unsafe building conditions, and transportation disruptions in the public school system. Photo: ThoseGuys119/Flickr | Illustration: New York Focus
The East Ramapo school board has been overseen by state monitors for years after it slashed millions in public school funds to bankroll private religious education.
By Melissa Manno

A Rockland County school district that has been at the center of numerous scandals — including lawsuits, state investigations, and federal probes — is suing the state for rejecting its unanimous choice for superintendent.

The lawsuit was filed last week by East Ramapo Central School District and its board, which have been overseen by state-appointed monitors for over a decade after it slashed public school funds to bankroll private religious education.

Since 2005, East Ramapo’s school board has been divided between public school parents and Orthodox Jewish parents who send their kids to private yeshivas, with the latter making up the board’s majority. For years, the board eliminated critical staff positions, cut programming, and mismanaged its finances, contributing to high dropout rates, chronic absenteeism, unsafe building conditions, and transportation disruptions in the public school system.

Grappling with repeated turnover among superintendents, the school board launched a new search for a permanent leader late last year. But that effort has hit a standstill, with the district and state at odds over who should take the helm. If the impasse continues, the state says it may have to install its own choice. 

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