Ramapo, N.Y. - East Ramapo school board meeting erupts


Ramapo, N.Y. - Flaring tempers at the East Ramapo school board meeting required three police officers to maintain order Wednesday night after a heated exchange between a student speaker and the board's attorney ended with another student rushing toward board members, forcing them to seek refuge in a closed executive session.

Some of the roughly 100 parents and students then reversed the speakers' podium, which had been facing the board, to express their concerns about unconfirmed reports of severe budget cuts that would hamper the district's Advanced Placement program and their anger about this week's cancellation of voter registration days at Ramapo High School.

After order was restored, the students — some in college and some in high school — were well-behaved.

The student who had rushed the board apologized for his actions as he addressed the board.

A public session preceding the student session ended abruptly with a 5-3 board vote after speakers became agitated at board member and refused to stick to the agreed-upon three-minute limit.

"What happens is that there were two speakers who were speaking about issues where they wanted to attack board members," board President Nathan Rothschild said. "Our problem is we're in a budget thing where there's a draconian budget coming and we're arguing about health violations and we're arguing about all kinds of things that are not mundane to the budget and we need to get to the budget."

The board first met to discuss the 2010-11 school budget in February, said Rothschild, when the initial budget proposal presented to the board by Superintendent Ira Oustatcher called for a tax increase of 12 percent.

Since that time, the board has met almost weekly to hear amendments to Oustatcher's budget proposal, with the goal of gradually making cuts to create a budget that will have a better chance to pass through a public vote. In past meetings, Oustatcher has said he hoped to lower the budget to around a 3 percent to 5 percent increase.

The anger at Wednesday's meeting was partially the result of the AP program being placed on the agenda for budget discussion, prompting people to believe it was in danger of cuts, Oustatcher said at the meeting.

Addressing a student inquiry on the issue Wednesday, he said, "You have my word ... at this point it is not on the chopping block. Here is the caution: Between now and next week, I have to cut this budget by $10 million, $10 million. So nothing is not on the chopping block for discussion. Everything is up for discussion."

Stephane E. Fouche, 17, a senior at Spring Valley High School, said he understood that districts were slashing their budgets almost universally this year, but said he was against any proposed cuts, particularly to the AP program.

"Our AP system helps us go to the Ivy Leagues," Fouche said. "We have a track record with Cornell and all of these big schools, so why would you stop a system that really works? It doesn't make sense."

Students from Ramapo High School also were on hand to express concerns over the right of 18-year-old district students to register to vote in the May 11 district elections.

Earlier in the week, registration days that had been scheduled for Ramapo were canceled, prompting students and parents alike to become agitated and confused.

Cathy Russell, the district clerk, apologized for the situation and said that a voting error by the board had not allowed for the registration day to be included in a required public notice that must run in local newspapers before such days can take place.

Russell added that students, as well as the general public, will have the opportunity to register to vote May 4. An additional registration date in April was also discussed, but was not available by press time Wednesday night.

There are several issues plaguing the already fiscally stretched district, including the increase of more than 100 Haitian students who arrived in the district after the earthquake.

Oustatcher said between this school year and next, these students will cost the district $4 million more that it does not have. He urged parents, students and teachers to write to federal and state leaders to ask that such funds be made available.

"One of the interesting things about this district is that as a high-need, low-resource district, we get more state funds and federal funds than many of our neighboring districts, but that means when the state and federal government claim that they don't have any more money, we end up losing more than our neighboring districts," he said.

Rothschild also blamed the state for a large portion of the troubled budget.

"When the state does this, the people here are displaced," he said. "They should be in Albany right now, pounding on the governor's door and saying, 'Why are you taking millions and millions of dollars away from East Ramapo?' "

The Journal News

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