In an effort to solve the long standing funding problems which impact negatively on East Ramapo students, Community United for Formula Change is petitioning Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature to enact a formula change that will recognize the unique demographics of the East Ramapo Central School District and will allocate funding accordingly. Community United for Formula Change is comprised of community leaders, educators and activists, representing all elements of this ethnically diverse school district who have come together to enact positive changes that will benefit the students of all East Ramapo.
Current state aid formulas allocate funds to school districts based on the number of students registered in public schools relative to property values in the area, creating significant problems for the ERCSD. With private school students outnumbering their public school counterparts by a ratio of three to one, Albany currently ranks East Ramapo as one of the state’s wealthiest districts, when in fact, over 75 percent of students in the district qualify for free or reduced lunches based on their family incomes. As a result, East Ramapo students are currently being underserved by Albany, creating tremendous financial shortfalls and continuous tensions within this racially diverse school district.
Community United for Formula Change is asking the public, even those who live outside the East Ramapo Central School District, to sign their petition in an effort to end the current financial inequities and, by extension, alarming divisiveness that have long plagued the district.
Additionally, people are encouraged to contact elected officials by phone or email and ask them to enact a formula change that will serve the needs of this unique school district to provide a better education for its students.
To sign petition, click here: http://chn.ge/Q8chkB or search www.change.org for “Change Formula for the East Ramapo Central School District.”
Below is contact information of key elected officials.
Dean Skelos, Republican Senate Leader
Andrew Stewart Cousins, Democratic Senate Leader
Jeff Klein, Independent Conference Leader
518-455-3595
State Senator David Carlucci
518-455-2991
Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver
518-455-3791
Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee
518-455-5118
Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski
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2 Responses
Was this same story posted yesterday or recently? And why does it read like a polemic for a school district that wants money from outside the district to solve a political problem? Something is fishy here.
I think the core of the problem (for public school students) is that private school parents control the school board and choose to keep taxes low so that they can afford their private school tuitions, but this leaves the public schools underfunded. The tax base per public school student is high, but taxes are kept low, and the school board wants taxpayers outside the district to support the public school students, so that the private school parents can continue to support their private schools.
I’m going to make a wild guess and suggest that most private school students attend religious schools; and one more wild guess, that the majority of religious schools serving the private school students in the district are yeshivas.
I don’t think this problem is unique to East Ramapo, e.g., Manhasset, LI, has a similar balance of private and public school students, but the district has some very valuable commercial properties, and some very wealthy private school parents, and so the community can afford to support the public schools generously. The problem is money, not really a formula.
Nfgo3,
Your premises are wrong.
1) you can hardly call taxes in East Ramapo low
2) there is a limit, by, law how much real estate taxes can be raised each year.
3) A portion of EVERY school district budget includes state funding. A large chunk is to cover state mandated services. setvices which are mandated for ALL students in the district.
4) The formula however for allocation only counts public school students, even though services are mandated for all students.
5) This error in the formula has a very great impact on funding for the district because of the unique ratio of public vs non-public students.
6) Many other school districts, even in Rockland are differing buffet shortfalls and have had to cut back the same programs and more. But they don’t have the Jews to conveniently blame this in.
7) The BOE serves all students in a district, not just the public school students. Notice it is not called the public school board of education.
8) based on the ratio if public to non public school children, it seems only appropriate that there should be more non public school parents on the board.
9) this new petition seeks to rectify the formula error that has such a negative impact on the budget.
10) It seems that the proceeds from a more accurate formula would provide a greater benefit to the public school part of the budget than the non public school budget.
11) there are those who would rather harm the children of the district so long they can paint the Jews in a negative light.
12) Clearly included in that is the disgrace who feels that fomenting hate against Orthodox Jews calls for donning a tallit in a church.