[poweroften] New Play about East Ramapo; Rockland Legislature Asks NY to Investigate School Finances

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Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. Hearing on Legislation Tuesday
2. Play about East Ramapo Issues Sunday
3. Help Power of Ten Grow

1) The Rockland County Legislature is requesting that the New York State Assembly and Senate pass "The New York State School Taxpayers' Protection Act"

Public school districts in New York state have recently experienced numerous instances of financial scandals. These scandals have been unprecedented in both the number and diversity of financial malfeasance. Furthermore, such scandals result in the diversion of hard-earned property taxpayers' money from their proper use in school instruction to improper and illegal purposes that do not further the school districts' essential mission of educating New York children. Therefore, the legislature finds that it is necessary to establish a new, independent state agency charged with the function of investigating allegations of corruption, financial improprieties, unethical conduct, misconduct or other criminal conduct within public school districts outside of New York city. In addition, the legislature further finds that the current laws must be amended to incorporate school district financial safeguards and establish sanctions for violations of school district finance laws.

You can attend the hearing and even speak on the subject:

Tuesday, March 18, at 7:00 PM at 11 New Hempstead Rd in New City.

It is important to note that the successes we have had in protecting the taxpayers interests have been achieved through investigations by private citizens who then report these findings to the Commissioner.  A State Agency to conduct investigations would be a welcome addition to our efforts.

2) Play about East Ramapo Starts Sunday

"East Ramapo" is a dramatic series of monologues and conversations of individuals directly affected by the situation in the East Ramapo Central School District. These include high school students from both public and private schools, administrators and community activists. Several of the actors perform in their own voices. The goal of the play is to provide an artistic opportunity for individuals with widely divergent beliefs and cultures to recognize and hear each other in a safe setting. East Ramapo was written by Mark Judelson.

Cast
Allegra Berg
Kevin Castel
Marissa Chin
Jean Fields
Mark Judelson
Willie Trotman
Alexus Williams

Performances:

Sunday, March 23, 2:00 p.m.
New City Library, 220 N. Main Street, New City

Sunday, April 6, 1:30 p.m.
Suffern Library, 210 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern

Saturday, April 12, 2:00 p.m.
CEJJES Institute, 5 Cooper Morris Drive, Pomona

Monday, April 28, 7:30 p.m.
Kurtz Civic Center, 9 North Main Street, Spring Valley

Sunday, May 4, 2:00 p.m.
Haverstraw Kings Daughters Library, 10 W. Haverstraw Road, Garnerville

All performances are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Mark Judelson: markjudelson@yahoo.comwww.storiesofpeace.com

Funding for East Ramapo has been made possible by a grant from the Puffin Foundation.

3) Help Power of Ten Grow

Power of Ten is an email newsletter delivered free.  The mission is to promote awareness of the importance of education and the difficulties faced by families in East Ramapo in accessing quality education for their children.  Power of Ten offers opportunities for readers to be active and assert their rights. You can help to promote this mission by inviting friends to sign up for the Power of Ten updates.  Just ask them to visit www.poweroften.us and enter their name and email address.  Thanks! – Steve White, editor

[poweroften] Breakfast for Justice

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Power of Ten Update

Breakfast for Justice

Children in the East Ramapo School District are being deprived of many of the most basic elements of education. The district has been gutted in a devastating and careless way by those on the school board. This can not be allowed to go on. There are many people working to try to restore education to the once prized school district and many trying to offer these kids a bit of hope. Supporting the class action suit is a powerful way to help.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 10:00 - 11:30 A.M.
AT THE HOME OF PAUL AND RABIA NAGIN
23 DOGWOOD LANE, POMONA, N.Y.

If you are unable to attend, please consider donating at http://poweroften.us/donate/ All donations are tax deductible.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/559411790832855/

[poweroften] School Board Loses Two More Lawsuits; says NO to Veterans

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Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. School Board Loses Two More Lawsuits!
2. School Board Appeals NY Supreme Court Decision
3. School Board says NO to Veterans
4. Chestnut Ridge Middle School to be leased to Orthodox day camp
5. Receiving Power of Ten Messages

1) School Board Loses Two More Lawsuits!

In 2010, the East Ramapo school board voted to sell Hillcrest Elementary to Yeshiva Avir Yakov. That sale was stopped by the NY State Commissioner of Education. The appraiser used by the district has since been arrested for his role in that matter.  Commissioner Steiner also cautioned the board regarding its future plans for the school. However, in 2013 NY State had to step in again, this time over the rental price given to Yeshiva Avir Yakov.  Once again, the district had made a deal with the yeshiva without adequately attempting to find the best return for the taxpayers. The district responded by suing NY State. On January 29, the court upheld the actions of the Commissioner.

The Journal News: Hillcrest lease set to be nullified

Last April, the East Ramapo School Board sued its insurance company for denying coverage regarding the civil rights lawsuit filed against individual board members and administrators. On January 13, the court upheld the denial of insurance. The full opinion is available here.  Here is an excerpt:

Members of a school board might inadvertently advance religion in various ways, such as by closing school, or avoiding scheduling extra-curricular activities, on religious holidays. However, the allegations sustained by Judge Seibel, purchasing religious textbooks, paying religious school tuition, and transferring school property to religious schools, were clearly of a deliberate and intentional nature. Thus, these acts come within the exclusion for fraudulent, dishonest, malicious, criminal or intentional wrongful conduct. The District has not established that any of its board members are innocent insureds in that they had no knowledge of the fraudulent and dishonest conduct. The court concludes that New York Schools has established as a matter of law that there is no possible factual or legal basis on which it might eventually be obligated to indemnify the District for the actions alleged in the Establishment Clause causes of action.

2) School Board Appeals NY Supreme Court Decision

East Ramapo has been cited by the NY State Education Department three times for failing to follow State and Federal Law in regards to the placement of Special Education. In order to stymie NYSED in regards to any enforcement action, the Board sued NYSED, but lost. Now they are appealing. See it on YouTube.

Legal expenses for the district have skyrocketed since the longtime lawyer for the district was summarily fired and replaced with the current law firm.  One can only imagine that if the district still had its previous lawyer, he would have advised against all of the actions that the district has taken, from violating the contract of the superintendent, to placing children in private school at taxpayer expense, to suing the NY State Attorney General and the Education Department.  When the change was made, the public complained about the doubling of the hourly rate- they had no idea of just how many unnecessary lawsuits were coming, or that even more expensive lawyers would be hired to defend the new lawyer.  ALL of these outrageous expenses are coming from your tax dollars that are supposed to provide for the education of the children of the district.  The civil rights lawsuit filed by Advocates for Justice seeks monetary damages from the people who brought this disaster to our district.  Please support Advocates for Justice.

3) School Board says NO to Veterans

The Governor recently signed the Veterans School Tax Exemption. This law allows local school boards ability to decide whether or not to bring this matter up for a vote. They may also decide not to take any action. There is no deadline for them to act. However, the deadline for Veterans to file for the New York State Tax Exemption is March 1st of each year.

East Ramapo apparently is not going to participate in this program to help veterans.  See it on YouTube.

4) Chestnut Ridge Middle School to be leased to Orthodox day camp

Last Fall, an Orthodox day camp advertised on its web page that its new location for 2014 would be the Chestnut Ridge Middle School.  Requests for documents from East Ramapo were repeatedly denied.  Now a vote has been taken to approve a lease.  Parents and Taxpayers are increasingly concerned that a building which was built with their hard earned tax dollars, which had up until recently been available as a summer spot open to ALL children, will now be operated by an entity which can exclude children based on religion.  There is also a serious question, based on the school boards prior actions, that the price which has been negotiated may represent a gift.

The Journal News: East Ramapo school district to lease middle school to Jewish day camp

5) Receiving Power of Ten Messages

Modern Email software is designed to protect you from unwanted email, but sometimes the filters also strip away newsletters such as Power of Ten. You can help ensure that Power of Ten makes into your inbox by adding steve@poweroften.us to your contact list, address book, or 'safe sender list'.  All previous messages are always available at http://poweroften.us/updates/

 

[poweroften] East Ramapo board loses in court again; segregation undermines education

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Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. School Board Loses Another Lawsuit
2. East Ramapo decline tied to increasing segregation
3. Reminder: MLK Day event Monday
4. Green Meadow Waldorf School offers free tutoring
5. Message from the editor

1) School Board Loses Another Lawsuit

The Journal News: Court: East Ramapo broke law on special-ed placement practice

2) East Ramapo decline tied to increasing segregation

The Journal News Community View: East Ramapo board a symptom of community's segregation

Read the essay in text only format

3) MLK Day Event Monday:

Martin Luther King Day Event Now includes VH1 celebrity guest Puma Robinson

4) Green Meadow School Offers Free Tutoring

The Journal News: A new tutoring program offered by Green Meadow Waldorf School could give students in East Ramapo and other districts a leg up on their grades in 2014.

5) Message from the editor

The East Ramapo School District used to have a local, reasonably priced lawyer who served the interests of the district well.  This lawyer was summarily fired for no reason and replaced with a much more expensive lawyer.  The new lawyer advised the district regarding the practice of special education placements deemed illegal by NY State.  This lawyer advised the district regarding breaking the contract of the Superintendent and then lost an expensive lawsuit in which that superintendent recouped the salary owed him.  This lawyer advised the district regarding the process of selling and leasing schools which led to investigation by the NY State Attorney General's office, the arrest of the appraiser involved, and the annulment of a sale and a lease. Good legal advice would have kept the district out of all this trouble.  Now the district has lost another lawsuit, in which it was ridiculously suing the NY State Education Department for doing its job.

The money to pay all these legal fees is coming out of your tax dollars which are supposed to be for the purpose of educating children.  The school board, which is supposed to be a steward of those funds, has been acting as if they are purposely trying to wreck the district.  Can there be any solution to this problem?  Actually, the NY State Education Department has proposed the solution as a new law.  The bill has been sitting in committee since 2011.

Dr. McWilliams points out: "Many local politicians have yielded to the organized political voting bloc as a means to maintain their political seats…" He continues: "The East Ramapo public school community can no longer afford to wait on the politicians to correct the imbalance…" 

On Nov 5, 2013 Preserve Rockland candidates Ed Day and Emilia White won landslide victories, Public education advocates have shown that they will not only organize, mobilize, demonstrate, protest, and petition; they are now voting in a block. We demand that the governance of East Ramapo be changed, and new stewards be put in place who will once again make the education of EVERY child the ONLY mission of the school district, This is the recommendation of the NY State Education Department, This plan was endorsed by the Journal News. It has been sponsored by our state representatives.

It is now five years since the school board hired their scandal plagued law firm and 7 months since they said they would part ways with them. It is clear that public outrage, even international attention means nothing to this board.  Only an action by NY State to remove them will change the course of our district and our county. – Steven White, editor of The Power of Ten

 

[poweroften] Sad News; Strange Bedfellows; A Day to Celebrate

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Power of Ten Update

In this issue:

1. Rev. Brightman has passed
2. School board member resigns
3. An outrageous choice
4. School board still paying lawyer who cursed at student
5. Martin Luther King Celebration Jan 20 at SVHS

1) Rev. Brightman has passed

The Rev. Walter Brightman Jr. passed away last month at the age of 81. Rev. Brightman often spoke about the East Ramapo children and the need for them to receive a quality education. He really cared about the kids. Rev Brightman will be missed by all of us.

The Journal News: Spring Valley activist Brightman dies at 81

2) School Board Member Resigns

East Ramapo Board of Education member MaraLuz Corado stepped down in December after serving less than six months on the board. She was the FOURTH member of the East Ramapo School Board to resign in 2013!!!

The Journal News: E. Ramapo board member resigns

3) An Outrageous Choice

Democrats at the County Legislature officially selected former East Ramapo School Board member Aron Wieder as the Legislature's Democratic Majority Leader. SMH!

Preserve Ramapo: An Outrageous Choice

4) School board still paying lawyer who cursed at student

 

The Journal News: East Ramapo bill at $74G for law firm officials vowed to fire

 

"…after much public pressure, the East Ramapo School Board president Mr. Yehuda Weissmandl announced on July 8 that the district would "transition to other legal representation". Six months later this firm is still in place no disciplinary action has been taken by the school district in either case. Given that the original "transition" from an existing law firm to Minerva & D'Agostino took all of one school board meeting, I find it insulting to our community that six months later, tax dollars are still being paid to this law firm." – Rockland County Executive Ed Day

 

5) Martin Luther King Celebration Jan 20 at SVHS

 

The Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center and Spring Valley High School celebrate 50 years of civil rights history and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 20, 2014 from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Spring Valley High School, 361 Rte. 59, Spring Valley, NY.

Program will include keynote speakers Dr. Weldon McWilliams IV and Ms. Mercedes Smith.

Entertainment including Chiku Awali Dancers. Arthur Lorde's Motherland Rhythms, JAMCCAR's Ekklipse Steel Band and Christ Centered Ministry's Voices of Praise.

The event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center in Spring Valley, the 50th anniversary "Freedom Summer", and the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Also featured will be performances by Spring Valley High School students.

Admission and light refreshments are FREE.

 

[poweroften] 2013 Review; 2014 Priorities

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The Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

1. 2013 Review
2. Let's Make Education Our Priority for 2014
3. Advocates for Justice End of Year Donation Plea

1) 2013 Review

2013 was a very active year for the struggle for educational equity in East Ramapo schools. It began with Letters from the NY State Education Department (NYSED) demanding that East Ramapo get its financial and educational house in order.  That initiative by the state was stalled by a lawsuit brought by the district against NYSED. That was another of several suits, fought with our education tax dollars, that the school board has lost. In January, Power of Ten went to Albany with students and parents and 4,994 signatures asking for NY State to intervene.  We got a response from Commissioner King, who said that there was pending legislation that could be a solution to our problem. In June The Power of Ten submitted petitions to Governor Cuomo with 6,152 signatures in favor of the passage of the bill. We have never received any response from Governor Cuomo.  In October, The Civil Rights lawsuit brought by Advocates for Justice survived another challenge by the school board's $600 an hour lawyers. The judge has ruled that the case will proceed, and we are confident that Justice is Coming to East Ramapo!

Read an Abbreviated History of Actions to Save Our Schools or check out the archive of Power of Ten updates for a look back at more actions.

2) Let's Make Education Our Priority for 2014

All of our actions have had the single goal that every child's right to a quality education shall be ensured and protected by the community at large.  We have promoted candidates for school board, we have conducted informational rallies and protests, we have delivered our message to the school district and to our elected officials.  We have filed appeals with NYSED, some of which have been successful. However, resources continue to be diverted and programs and staff continue to be cut.  In 2014 we will continue to rally, and to lobby. We will also be in court!

3) Advocates for Justice End of Year Donation Plea

When your civil rights are trampled, and the politicians are unwilling to act, it has traditionally been the legal system which has acted to protect your rights. Access to that legal system often depends on ability to pay, and too often justice is denied due to lack of funding.

We have been extremely lucky to have our issue taken up by a not-for-profit, public interest civil rights law firm. Advocates for Justice has been working tirelessly to get the US Federal Court to order that the East Ramapo School District stop diverting funding from public schools and restore funding to the way it is mandated by law.  The case also includes recouping damages from the school officials whose actions have caused so much damage to our educational system.

Advocates for Justice is not charging a fee to any of the over 400 people who signed on as plaintiffs in this suit. However, this is a very complicated suit and the school board has already spent millions of dollars trying to make it go away.  They know that if this case goes to trial, they will be personally liable, and they are using every desperate measure to try to stop this case from ever being seen by a jury.

We must come together to sustain our side of this legal battle.  That means each of us needs to pitch in for the costs, in whatever way we can.

Click Here to Donate to the Advocates for Justice East Ramapo Save Our Schools Legal Fund

Donations to Advocates for Justice are tax-deductible.

WE can make Justice come to East Ramapo! Please donate today!