Mareesa Nicosia

mnicosia@lohud.com

SPRING VALLEY – As the deadline approaches for the East Ramapo school district to claim a $3.5 million state aid advance, officials are digging in their heels on a decision to reject the money unless a community oversight stipulation is lifted.

"The board feels — and I agree with them — that this is the responsibility of the Board of Education and they are both affronted and insulted ... that an outside group of people could determine how the money is used," schools Superintendent Joel Klein said Wednesday.

The $3.5 million, known as the lottery "spin-up," was intended to bring back some staff and programs, like middle school sports, clubs and extracurricular activities, that were cut last year.

Klein made the comments in an interview a day after state education officials announced they'd appoint a fiscal monitor at East Ramapo, citing the lottery aid as one factor in their concern about the district's fiscal health.

Administrators, board members and parents in the troubled district had begged lawmakers to help them last year amid a budget crisis, and Albany responded with legislation that would deliver some state lottery aid to the district early.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. David Carlucci and Assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Kenneth Zebrowski, would advance a portion of East Ramapo's 2014-15 lottery aid. It would be repaid over 30 years from smaller lottery aid allotments.

The district must apply for the money between June 9 and 20, the state Education Department said.

To get the aid early, the district would have to form an advisory committee of a parent, a teacher, a school board member, the superintendent and another administrator who would together direct how the dollars were spent. The stipulation was added by Jaffee, D-Suffern, in response to parents' concerns about how the district handles finances.

But the advisory committee was never formed, despite the district's promise to do so in the winter, Klein said Wednesday.

"(Board members) feel, in principle, it is wrong and it is illegal. They are the elected body," he said.

Jaffee says she has told district officials for months that the committee was intended to be in place for only the first year of the 30-year repayment period. Still, to "calm the waters," she said, she clarified that point by writing an amendment early this year. The amended bill passed, but is still awaiting Cuomo's signature.

Jaffee said Wednesday she was disappointed by the board's reaction and that, all along, the advisory committee was meant to encourage open, comfortable dialogue between the district and the public.

"It's unfortunate that they are concerned about that and they've given pushback," she said. "It's very telling of perhaps their fear of the discussion of how they utilize the funds of the school district."

Twitter: @MareesaNicosia