EAST RAMAPO SCHOOL BUDGET PASSES

SPRING VALLEY — Voters yesterday approved by a 2-1 ratio a $171 million school budget that was about $1.7 million less than one rejected in May.

"I'm very, very pleased that the community came out in strong numbers," said Martha Iglody, whose children attend East Ramapo schools and who runs the Little Red School House Museum on behalf of the district. "They came out to show they care and that public education matters."

Unofficial results showed 4,606 approved the budget, while 2,134 opposed it.

In May, opposition to a $172.7 million budget, a $12.6 million bond referendum and election of two school board members drew a record 12,000 voters. They rejected the budget and bond 7,232 to 4,639.

The budget submitted yesterday kept programs and class sizes intact, cut seven positions and sliced the district's operating margin by $1 million. It was about 4.6 percent higher than the current budget.

In congratulating the school board and community members on the budget passage, Superintendent of Schools Jason Friedman said that about the same number of people supported the spending plan in May and last night.

"How incredibly moved we could be as a district to have the individuals come out in the (same) numbers they came out in the first election," he said, praising voters' "persistence and commitment to the support of public education. Thank you very, very much."

Several citizens groups, including the East Ramapo Taxpayers Association, had urged defeat of the original budget. Kalman Weber, who heads the organization, said earlier this week that his group did not oppose the spending plan before voters yesterday as a show of good faith toward the public schools. He was out of the country yesterday and not available for comment.

"I think that the budget is important for our children, especially in this community. They need things to do," said Margo Abraham, 37, of Monsey, who came out to vote along with her sister, Nicole Abraham, 35, of Spring Valley, and longtime family friend Ramona Dixon, 36, of Spring Valley. Margo Abraham worried that a defeated budget would mean program cuts, increased class sizes and elimination of after-school activities.

All three women voted for the budget this time and in May, they said.

Moshe Weingarten, 29, of Monsey said he was not convinced the $171 million budget was a good one. He said he was concerned that the school board was not being held accountable for its spending, which has grown faster than the rate of inflation.

"I attend RCC, so I understand the value of public education, but the willingness of the (school) board to squander any amount of money without any accountability just gets me angry," he said. "I haven't seen a serious and sincere effort to rein in spending."

If the budget had failed, East Ramapo would have been constrained next year to an austerity budget that would take another $1.7 million from the district and result in program cuts or class size increases.

"It's always better to have a budget in place than going to austerity," said school board member Richard Stone. "With austerity, everybody loses."

'Faction' speaks up . . .
(Original publication: June 24, 2005)


As I read a recent letter to the editor from Fawn Wiener, an East Ramapo teacher, I was shocked and dismayed by what I see as the author's method of deception and convenient omissions of some important facts.

For starters, there is an implication that services such as busing, books and special education are provided to a "certain faction" at the district's expense, when in fact it is paid for in school taxes by that very same "faction."

Secondly, what she perceives as an attempt to impose religion in the public schools is in actuality an attempt to gain equitable distributions for private schools, to which a large segment of the district choose to send their children.

Wiener urges all parents who send their kids to public schools to be counted. In fact, they were already counted in the last school board/budget vote. She just doesn't like the democratic result of that vote. I guess freedom of speech and the right to vote is only a cause championed as long as the results conform with her point of view.

I could only hope that all "factions" are in agreement that excess bureaucratic fat has to be cut out. Hopefully, the old era of tax-and-spend will come to an end.

Why the letter-writer chooses to confuse this goal with attempts to cut valuable school services, such music, art and special services, is beyond me. Perhaps it is her goal to scare future voters to the polls.

Finally, I agree, if I had a business involving children, I, too, would prefer quality over quantity.


Mordy Chaimowitz, New Hempstead

Moving forward in East Ramapo
By GEORGE O. DARDEN
(Original publication: June 20, 2005)


The recent East Ramapo School Board and budget elections have brought concern from many members of the public school community. The loss of such dedicated school board members as Georgine Hyde and Danielle Bright, with their years of experience and the knowledge gleaned from their experiences, is truly a loss for the children of the district.

The new board members have little experience at best serving on school boards and appear to have little knowledge of the public school system. However, the results of the election present not only a cause for concern but also an opportunity to build community-wide support for the public education.

Spring Valley is a diverse community with residents from more than 37 nations. We have large African American, Haitian American, Latino American and Jewish American communities living within our 2.5 square-mile village. Even these communities are not monolithic.

In order for the Village of Spring Valley to succeed in its revitalization efforts, the talented people of all of these communities must join forces regularly to work together for the public good.

As mayor for the last four years and as a county legislator for 12 years prior to that, I have tried to listen to the many voices that come into my office and to balance the interests and needs of all of our residents. I continually search for common ground and try to remind people of the necessity of striving for the public good.

It is unquestionably true that, in the United States of America, a strong, healthy public school system is in the public interest, not only so that our children can continue to enable our country to compete in a global economy as adults, but because freedom, democracy and stability require the widest possible access to high quality education for every child in the land.

It is what distinguishes us as a nation from countries all over the world whose peoples are divided by ancient hatreds.

The educational welfare of the children of the public schools can only be guaranteed by bringing together members of the public and the private school communities. Fear and ignorance of any community by another will be an obstacle to achieving and maintaining educational excellence for all.

The new School Board members and their supporters have informed the public that they will work for the benefit of all the children of East Ramapo. I think those of us who cherish our public schools should take them at their word.

We must challenge them to educate themselves about each and every program and service provided by East Ramapo to all of its children. We must help them master the intricacies of public education's financial structure. We must help them navigate through the complex set of federal and state laws, mandates and limitations that govern our public schools.

Most of all, we must make sure that they understand the needs, the hopes and the dreams of the children who attend East Ramapo schools and those of their parents. I believe that they will find that children of every race, religion, ethnic group and class have the same needs, and that their parents have the same hopes and expectations, whether they choose to send their children to public or private schools. Common ground is there to be found.

It is vital that the dialog should start immediately and not be limited to the new board members. Bringing together interested and representative individuals and leaders from the public and the private school worlds in a series of councils which will meet regularly can help raise all of our levels of awareness and assure all communities that their viewpoints will be heard and addressed.

This task will require much time and effort. I am confident there are many willing to serve. The objectives are important, not only to the residents of East Ramapo, but to Rockland as a whole.

I wish our board members David Resnick and Steven Rosenstock much luck and success as they take on their new responsibilities. I believe that, with God's help, the entire school board will face today's challenges and keep East Ramapo one of the top school systems in the nation.

Dwindling income
(Original publication: June 27, 2005)
letter to journal news

This is in answer to Scott L. Gibson's recent letter protesting that it is unfair to assess school taxes on the basis of income only when the equity which older homeowners have "built up" on their homes is in reality untaxed additional income.

Gibson has apparently never heard of the depreciation in the value of the dollar. A fair wage for a colonial journeyman was a penny a day. By 1900, it had risen to $1, and by 1930 to $25 a week. When I moved to Rockland approximately 45 years ago, I was earning about $45 per week!

I purchased my house with trepidation for $25,000 and with wild abandon made additions (sun deck, electrical enhancement, an additional room, etc., for another $10,000), making it $35,000 in all. Today, my $35,000, 45-year old wooden house is worth (I am told) approximately $300,000. The realizable dollars has increased by $265,000, but a dollar today buys approximately equivalent 6 to 7 worth of a 1960 dollar, so I would realize the equivalent of $19,500 in 1960 dollar buying power and a loss of $15,500 in 1960 dollars.

This is income? Guess again, sir.


Stanley Marcus, Spring Valley

LETTER TO THE JOURNAL NEWS
The wrong 'assumptions'

(Original publication: June 27, 2005)


In response to recent letter writer Isaac Koenig, I must ask. how can he charge that public school supporters are anti-Semitic for disagreeing with voters who knocked down the East Ramapo school budget? What does feeling disappointed about a decision that could potentially diminish the educational opportunities of thousands of school children have to do with anyone's religion?

Certainly he must be aware that thousands of voters went to the polls with the sole purpose of limiting their taxes rather than support the education of public school children. I think Koenig should be considering what he and other like-minded citizens have done, rather than assigning motives to others.

Koenig asks if there is something wrong with boys and girls being separated in school. To my knowledge, no one is questioning how children are educated in yeshivas. However, he seems to make a lot of assumptions about the lifestyles of public school supporters. Who is he to judge the families of East Ramapo?


Alan Schwartz, Pomona

Taxes: Education's albatross
By MARTHA CANAVAN
(Original publication: June 27, 2005)


I would like to commend East Ramapo student Jonathan Di Nuzzo for getting involved in an issue of great importance: His education and that of his fellow students. We definitely need more young men and women to take an active interest in issues of the day.

However, we all tend to look at things through our own eyes and our own place in time. I am a senior citizen and one of the people who Jonathan thinks doesn't care. That's far from the truth. After painful consideration, I didn't vote, probably the coward's way out. But I could not in good conscience note "no" on the school budget because I think too highly of education and the needs of our young students. But, I could also not in good conscience vote "yes" to a budget that I believe would be a big financial burden to many of Rockland's senior and junior population. For me, there was no lesser of two evils.

Quoting from the first proposed East Ramapo budget for 2005-'06 that was sent to our homes, the amount of school tax increase was figured on "a hypothetical home within the school district with a full value of $100,000." How hypothetical can you get? Where do we find this house? (Ramapo has not reassessed in many years, so that figure is based on the value of homes not on the market for decades: Editor).

I would only pay $138 more a year, not too bad. However, homes in Rockland (including mine) have a considerably higher price tag. Whomever you believe, the tax increase is still a sizable amount. This, mind you, is in addition to the $320 hike in my county/town tax bill this past January. this year. The only tax not going up (in fact, it is going down) is my village tax. I praise them highly for their successful efforts.

So, Jonathan, I hope I have at least opened your eyes to the fact that it's not because we don't care. We care about all the people and age groups in the county. People who have lived in Rockland for years should not be forced out by skyrocketing taxes. Young people, like yourself, who in not too many years will be looking to buy a home and settle down, should not be forced to look elsewhere because taxes have gone so high. Hopefully, a solution can be found to benefit all of us.

So, don't stop what you're doing. Widen your horizons. Look at other people's points of view, possibly your own grandparents'. Or do some research. Check out the price of Rockland's homes and the real estate taxes that go along with them to see what salary you would need out of college to continue to live here, and then figure in what a large tax increase the following year could do to your budget.

We need young people like you, Jonathan. Please stay involved and open-minded. Most issues are not simply black and white; there all all shades in between. Maybe you're the one who can help find solutions. You are our future.

Congratulations to the school board and community members wordle on the successful passage of the budget.