State calls for East Ramapo watchdog

ALBANY – The state-appointed fiscal monitor of the East Ramapo school district wants a legislative intervention that would give an appointee veto power over the board's "bad decisions."

If enacted, the Board of Regents-backed proposal by the monitor, attorney Hank Greenberg, would be the most dramatic intervention in a school district by New York state in more than a decade.

The two-pronged proposal, which Greenberg presented Monday to the state Board of Regents after a five-month review, would serve as a "check and balance" in the district.

At the same time, it would create an infusion of new state funding to the deficit-plagued district, where years of bitter conflict over resources shared between the public schools and the fast-growing private school community has reached an impasse.

"Policymakers have lots of different ideas to pick and choose from," Greenberg told reporters at a briefing with state Education Commissioner John King and Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch ahead of the Regents meeting Monday afternoon. "This much seems absolutely clear and essential to me: Whatever final model the Legislature and the governor are to adopt in this case, it has to be one that, in real time, allows someone the ability to reverse bad decisions of the board. That is, to my mind, necessary to begin to restore trust in a public school community that clearly has none in this board."

Greenberg presented several recommendations to the Regents following his review of East Ramapo finances and meetings with educators, students, community leaders and local officials this summer and fall.

The Regents were expected to approve the recommendations immediately and refer them to the state Legislature.

Greenberg's report leaves many details up to the Legislature and the governor to determine – such as how much money the district would receive, who the monitor would be and how long he or she would serve, and who would pick up the cost.

Education officials said they expect the Legislature to take action "quickly," indicating that means early in 2015.

"I am hopeful that policymakers will react quickly to these recommendations and in a thoughtful and constructive way," Greenberg said. "The crisis is real, it's immediate and it warrants immediate attention."

In a 61-page report, Greenberg pointed to the district's unique demographics — 24,000 students go to private schools, mostly Ultra Orthodox Jewish yeshivas, while 9,000 Latino and black students go to public schools — as the crux of its struggles.

He said the new monitor would be tasked with intervening to prevent bad decisions like the wiping out of the district's reserve fund and spending millions of dollars on an out-of-town law firm.

"They have utterly, recklessly depleted those reserves and now I believe the district teeters on the precipice of fiscal disaster," he told reporters.

Greenberg also slammed the school board for its habit of discussing public matters behind closed doors — what he said were regular violations of the open meetings law.

But he also stressed unity and called on community leaders and clergy to talk to one another.

"There is enormous common ground here," he said. "The budget process should not be a zero-sum game. …This community would be exponentially more influential, their voices would be heard ever so more clearly, if the entire community spoke with one voice."

East Ramapo board President Yehuda Weissmandl responded in a statement, saying first that officials "are pleased" that the monitor found no illegal activity by the district. He also defended the program cuts and said the district will review Greenberg's recommendations for improvement.

"While we are uncomfortable with some of the characterizations in Mr. Greenberg's report, we are hopeful that it will lead to real progress for the children of the district," Weissmandl said.

The report envisions a temporary oversight situation that officials characterized as less extreme than the long-term state appointees that took over the Roosevelt district on Long Island in 2002. It would be similar in some ways to the situation in Lakewood, New Jersey, where the state recently installed a fiscal monitor that can override superintendent and school board actions.

State Sen. David Carlucci and Assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Ken Zebrowski, all of whom represent portions of the school district, pledged their support for Greenberg's recommendations.

"I believe that my colleagues in the Legislature understand the difficulties in East Ramapo," Jaffee, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Hopefully, Greenberg's recommendation will enable them to act quickly to pass this legislation."

Public school advocates Willie Trotman and Oscar Cohen, of the Spring Valley NAACP, praised the report and said it accurately captured their years of frustration.

If the Legislature succeeds in passing laws specific to East Ramapo, it could be used as a "template" for other districts in need, officials said, citing the Lawrence school district in Nassau County as one example.

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