Report on legislation to authorize the Commissioner of Education to appoint a State Monitor for East Ramapo Central School District

SUMMARY

The Education and the Law Committee issued a report supporting legislation that would require the State Education Department to appoint a monitor to oversee school board decisions and supervise all fiscal and operational activities in the East Ramapo Central School District. The Committee noted the district has been in decline for a number of years, fiscal mismanagement has led to the slashing of public school programs, public funds are used to favor private school students at the expense of public district programs, and the lack of transparency in Board decisions has possibly violated the Open Meetings Law. This has resulted in the District’s failure to uphold the constitutionally-mandated “sound basic education” to which all students in New York are entitled. Appointment of a state monitor was recommended in a recent report by a state-appointed fiscal monitor for the District.

BILL INFORMATION

A.5355-A (AM Jaffee) / S.3821-A (Sen. Carlucci) – authorizes the Commissioner of Education to appoint a state monitor to oversee the East Ramapo Central School District and establishes the powers and duties of the state monitor (NYS 2015)