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Takeaways from the East Ramapo monitors' report

Kimberly Redmond
The Journal News
From left, East Ramapo Superintendent, Charles Szuberla, the s and state monitor for the East Ramapo schoolsDeborah Wortham, and Valter Paci assistant superintendent of finance talk about the districtÕs $58 million bond vote on Dec. 6. in West Nyack Nov. 22, 2016.

If the state does not continue to provide a $3 million allocation in aid this year to East Ramapo, the school district will have to cut universal kindergarten and art classes in elementary schools, which are two programs that were just restored in the fall, according to a report by the district's monitors.

In "A New Beginning," which was released Tuesday morning by the state Education Department, monitors Charles Szuberla and John Sipple report on steps taken by the East Ramapo district over the last year to turn itself around, outline priorities and identify challenges that lie ahead.

Szuberla and Sipple called for continued oversight of the district to ensure "recent gains are not lost" and that "progress continues to be made." The Board of Regents in December requested the continuation of funding for monitors in its 2017 budget.

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They also issued a recommendation for Albany lawmakers to authorize $3 million in supplemental aid to keep full-day kindergarten and instruction for art, music, dance and theater classes in grades K-6. If East Ramapo tried to maintain the programs on its own, it would exhaust the district's current fund balance and leave school officials with "very limited capacity to address unforeseen fiscal challenges," the report says.

The two offerings were rolled out in October, using the funding the district was promised through the one-year oversight bill signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. At the time, the district did not say how it planned to continue funding the programs beyond the 2016-17 school year.

"I am in full support of the continuation of the legislation we passed last year and will work with my colleagues to ensure the full $3 million is included in the final budget," state Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee said Tuesday. "As the report indicates, the additional funding must come with the continuation of the commissioner's ability to oversee certain actions of the district as spelled out in the 2016 legislation."

Cuomo's proposed state budget calls for $1 million for East Ramapo, which Jaffee called "the first step," and that she expects the Assembly and state Senate to provide additional funding.

East Ramapo was placed under state oversight in 2015 as a way to help improve the district's finances amid allegations of mismanagement by school officials, and to develop long-term solutions to improve student performance.

Since then, it has taken steps to address recommendations made in "Opportunity Deferred," the first report by state-appointed monitors.

"Working with district officials, the state monitors are helping to right the ship in the East Ramapo Central School District, state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said in a statement accompanying the repory. "Now we must let their important work continue in the next school year to ensure every child in the East Ramapo community is provided with academic opportunities."

Szuberla said he and Sipple have met with more than 100 teachers, parents, administrators and community members to hear concerns as they work to turn things around financially and academically.

"We are seeing real change in the district to address these concerns. It is vital that these changes are allowed to continue in the next school year without imperiling the district's fiscal integrity," he said.

Here are some takeaways from the 20-page report.

  • The district's student population is made up of 8,650 public school students and 24,700 non-public school students. Of the public school population, 84 percent are economically disadvantaged and 30 percent of English language learners.
  • The Hispanic population has grown from about 20 percent in 2007 to 50 percent of the current student population at public schools.
  • Since 2007, the number of students enrolled in the free and reduced-price lunch program has grown from 59 percent of the student body to 84.3 percent. The district ranks among the poorest in New York based on lunch enrollment data, but also as one of the top 20 richest districts based on combined wealth ratio. Monitors said they were working with the Office of Education Finance to study weighting non-public students in state-aid formulas.
  •  After New York City schools, East Ramapo's transportation needs are the largest in the state. In 2015-16, it cost $29 million to transport 33,350 students (24,700 non-public students and 8,650 public) to school. East Ramapo pays just under $900 per pupil for transportation, which is below Rockland County's average of $1,041, according to the report. The district receives Transportation Aid from the state for non-public students through the existing state-aid formula, which includes a weight for non-public students in calculating school district wealth.
  • Monitors said they will be working with the district's Office of Student Transportation to examine the current system's efficiency and find ways to reduce transportation costs.
  • Nearly 25,000 students attend non-public schools, mainly yeshivas, the report says, and the private school population has increased by nearly 50 percent since 2004-05. The population is projected to grow at 4 percent to 5 percent per year.
  • After 13 years of growth, East Ramapo's special-education population decreased in 2016 after a director of special education was brought into the district. Prior to last year, the number of special-ed students grew 58 percent since 2003 — while the general student population declined. The report said that increased proportions of low-income and ELL students is commonly found with increased special-ed rates, but that East Ramapo's budget and program cuts resulted in reduced options for parents and teachers. Since the director has come on board, the district has reported a decrease in "inappropriate special-education placements."
  • Monitors, in conjunction with the district and state, are working on the 2017-18 budget and a five-year plan that restores programs that have been cut over the last nine years.
  • Monitors have requested a list of purchase orders and textbook inventory from the district regarding textbooks for non-public schools. Szuberla will then review the material with state Education Department staff and direct the district to keep an inventory of textbooks loaned to non-public schools.
  • The Office of Education Management Services, along with monitors, have begun reviewing all major contracts and requests for proposals.

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