NEWS

Crafting East Ramapo 'watchdog' bill no easy feat

Gary Stern and Mareesa Nicosia
gstern@lohud.com
State Sen. David Carlucci, left, and Assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Kenneth Zebrowski meet at Jaffee's office in Pearl River on Friday. They were discussing legislative proposals to help the East Ramapo school district, as recommended by state fiscal monitor Hank Greenberg.
  • Rockland delegation of Jaffee%2C Zebrowski and Carlucci ready to draft 'watchdog' bill
  • Jaffee%3A Need "intelligent%2C strong" East Ramapo bill
  • Hikind%3A Watchdog bill would set "unhealthy precedent"
  • Monitor Hank Greenberg was choice of Cuomo%2C but no comment from governor

Early support is building for state oversight of the East Ramapo school district, but pressure is on Rockland County's legislative delegation to craft a plan that New York's most inscrutable politicians will get behind.

Or at least that they won't oppose.

All eyes are on state Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski and state Sen. David Carlucci, Democrats who represent portions of East Ramapo. The three met Friday and plan to huddle the week after Thanksgiving with state Education Department officials to begin drafting a bill that would give life to fiscal monitor Hank Greenberg's vision for mending the fractured school district.

"We have to have an intelligent, strong piece of legislation that reflects much of what Mr. Greenberg suggested," Jaffee said.

Greenberg has received widespread praise — and some criticism — for addressing in plain terms the extreme distrust that plagues East Ramapo, where Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jews who send their children to private schools have dominated the school board since 2005.

After a five-month review, Greenberg proposed Monday that a state watchdog be given veto power over school board decisions. He also called for a shot of state funding to the impoverished school system.

Both proposals would require an act of the Legislature, which could be a tricky feat when political agendas merge and clash.

For instance, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Brooklyn Democrat whose district includes the heavily Orthodox neighborhood of Borough Park and who has ties to Orthodox leaders in Rockland, said Friday he would not support an oversight bill for East Ramapo.

"I wouldn't want to set an unhealthy precedent as far as taking away governmental control" from duly elected officials, he said.

Peggy Hatton, a parent of former East Ramapo students who remains one of the district's most dogged critics, said she had "no confidence" that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos will support the proposals for East Ramapo.

"The ball is being handed off to the very people who have thwarted the effort to have the legislation that would fix East Ramapo over the past three years," she said.

A 2011 Assembly bill would have allowed the state to gradually intervene in chronically under-performing school districts – with a state "takeover" as the worst-case scenario. The bill (co-sponsored by Zebrowski and Jaffee) went nowhere, despite state Education Commissioner John King pushing for it.

Michael Whyland, spokesman for Silver, said the speaker's office will want to listen to the Rockland delegation and see their specific proposal before deciding how to proceed.

"We want to ensure that students in East Ramapo receive the best education possible," Whyland said.

Skelos' office did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the press office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who suggested the appointment of Greenberg as a monitor for East Ramapo.

Greenberg said he did not meet with Cuomo or legislative leaders before delivering his findings Monday to the Board of Regents. But he said he did brief federal and state officials, including staff in the governor's office.

In the past, legislators and some education groups have been leery of giving the state too much power to overrule school boards. The New York State School Boards Association has opposed giving Albany too much control, but was initially supportive of the general direction of Greenberg's report.

"Clearly, something must be done to restore the community's trust in the school district," a statement from the group said. "We hope the parties involved can develop a solution that addresses the specific concerns raised in this report."

A spokesman for the state Education Department, when asked whether officials are concerned about the likelihood of legislative action, referred to Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch's emphatic embrace of Greenberg's report.

"I believe this requires serious immediate action by the Legislature so that we can see a change on the ground this school year," Tisch said at Greenberg's presentation. "I don't want to wait until April or May."

Local members of the Legislature's education committees were hopeful that support will develop for whatever the Rockland delegation puts forward.

State Sen. George Latimer

"The Republican majority will have to support it in the Senate — and the specifics in this case warrant doing so," said Sen. George Latimer, D-Rye, a minority member on the Senate Education Committee. "There appears to be something going on in East Ramapo that is more than ordinary, and there appears to be a need for an external monitor."

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, who serves on the Assembly Education Committee, agreed that East Ramapo is an "extraordinarily unique situation."

"This is precedent setting, and I think there is a good chance of something passing," she said.

State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin

Zebrowski said he expects support in the Assembly and Senate for the right plan to help East Ramapo.

"I have had numerous conversations with my colleagues regarding the East Ramapo school district and they understand the unique nature of this district," he said.

Harry Phillips, who represents the Lower Hudson Valley on the Board of Regents, said he expects the Legislature to act quickly. He said New York could create a model for dealing with similar situations in communities like Lawrence, New York, and even Lakewood, New Jersey.

"I think the Legislature is seeing this happen in a number of school districts and they're very concerned," Phillips said.

Twitter: @garysternNY; @mareesanicosia