Mareesa Nicosia

mnicosia@lohud.com

SPRING VALLEY – The president of the East Ramapo school board accused top state education officials of sanctioning bigotry, lashing out in response to the state's appointment this week of a fiscal monitor to review the district's shaky financial situation.

In a letter dated Thursday to state Education Commissioner John King Jr., school board President Yehuda Weissmandl writes that the appointment of a monitor is motivated "less by claimed 'fiscal concerns' and more by divisive local politics."

"By acceding to the demands of bigots, you lend official sanction to their prejudice," Weissmandl wrote. "This is shameful and profoundly offensive; not just to the board's democratically elected members, but to our constituents who have entrusted us with the responsibility to safeguard the district's resources and to represent the interests of the district's taxpayers."

Critics have long charged that East Ramapo's school board, run by a majority of Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish men who send their children to private yeshivas, has focused on reducing spending and has not served the best interests of public school students.

"Self-proclaimed social justice leaders and long-standing political opponents" of the board — including several who lost school board elections to current trustees — have "seized upon the district's financial difficulties as 'evidence' of incompetence, malfeasance, and even fraud by the elected members," Weissmandl writes.

Board members contend the criticism is based solely on their religion, he writes.

It is the "drumbeat" of these "libelous accusations" — as well as media coverage of such — that has led to the appointment of the fiscal monitor, Weissmandl contends.

Board members and other Orthodox leaders have increasingly argued that their financially strapped school system simply cannot afford to maintain programs and that the state's aid formulas must be changed to reflect the uniquely large numbers of private school students in East Ramapo.

Weissmandl notes the numerous audits of the district in recent years and defends the district's financial management, noting the increasing costs and mandates faced by all New York school districts in the tax-cap era.

"It is true that our District faces serious financial challenges. That is unfortunate, but not unique," he writes.

But East Ramapo has also spent millions of dollars on lawyers to defend its controversial practice of placing disabled children in yeshivas for special education programs when less restrictive public options are available, to accommodate many Orthodox families' religious customs. The state says the practice is illegal.

The fiscal monitor, Hank Greenberg, has been directed to look into possible district "preferences" when it comes to special education and real-estate transactions.

Weissmandl ends his letter with acquiescence, writing that the board looks forward to a meeting with Greenberg, a former counselor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his time as attorney general.

"While we disagree strongly with your decision, we respect your authority and will cooperate fully with the fiscal monitor," he writes. "In the process, we hope that you will continue to respect our board's independence and authority, and that your office will continue to work with our board to advance the interests of our district and its students."

He added that the school board expects Greenberg to serve in only an "advisory capacity," saying the law prevents the commissioner from appointing a "monitor" to approve or reject the board's decisions.

State Sen. David Carlucci, D-New City, called the letter the district's "public attack" of the fiscal monitor and said he finds it "troubling."

"The district should work with the state Education Department as a partner and not an adversary," Carlucci said in a statement Friday. "I look forward to collaborating with the fiscal monitor, stakeholders, teachers and my colleagues in Albany to make sure we focus on education instead of finger-pointing."

Also "troubling," Carlucci said, is the district's refusal to accept a $3.5 million state-aid advance made possible by special legislation he and his state Assembly colleagues helped secure at the district's request. Earlier in the week, schools Superintendent Joel Klein said he and the board are "insulted" by the oversight stipulations attached to the money.

Yet, in recent days, Klein has said he welcomes the opportunity for an outsider to look at the district's books.

"We're really looking forward to meeting with (Greenberg) and having him go through the materials because we have nothing to hide and we'd really like to have an independent voice," he said.

Twitter: @MareesaNicosia