Buses are Full; How You Can Help Right Now

Education Chair Cathy Nolan Greets East Ramapo Students

Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. April 28 Buses are Full
2. School Board Campaign Hits the Streets Saturday
3. Send a Message to Your Legislator
4. Help Spruce Up Ramapo HS

1) April 28 Buses are Full

All of the buses to Albany for the Day of Advocacy for East Ramapo are full. If you have registered, you should have received a confirmation email or phone call with the details. if not, please contact Kim Foskew at kimfoskew@gmail.com or 914-282-1387. Also, if you would like to drive up and meet us in Albany, contact her for the details. Thanks to all who helped us to fill the buses.

2) School Board Campaign Hits the Streets

We will be gathering at the BRAVO parking lot (corner Eckerson Rd and Rt 45) on Saturday at 11:30 AM. for a door to door canvassing session. 

If going door to door is not your thing, you might want to make some phone calls or host a meet and greet fundraiser. Just send me a note at steve@poweroften.us and let me know what you are willing to do.

Of course, EVERYONE can make an online donation at: https://charlespierremoraleswhite.wordpress.com/donate-to-the-cause, The amount you give is completely up to you.

3) Send a Message to Your Legislator

You can help the bill for a monitor pass without even leaving home. Send a message to the Rockland County Legislature asking them to support the bill with a resolution.

A Memorializing Resolution, sponsored by County Legislators Nancy Low-Hogan, Harriet Cornell, Michael Grant, Toney Earl, Aney Paul, Christopher Carey, Joseph Meyers and Lon Hofstein, in support of NYS Senate Bill S.3821-2015, and NYS Assembly Bill A. 5355-2015, to authorize the Commissioner of Education to appoint a State Monitor to oversee the East Ramapo Central School District and to establish the powers and duties of the State Monitor, will be reviewed by the Legislature’s Multi-Services Committee on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers in New City.

Please click here to send a message to the members of the Multi-Services Committee (Chairman Phil Soskin, Legislators Ilan Schoenberger, Aron Weider, Aney Paul, Toney Earl, Lon Hofstein, and Patrick Moroney) asking that they approve this resolution, at the April 28 committee meeting, for consideration by the full legislature without delay.

4) Help Spruce Up Ramapo HS

Saturday April 25 from 10 AM to 3 PM at Ramapo HS, 400 Viola Rd, Spring Valley, NY

Bring your own garden tools and help spruce up Ramapo HS!
More info: 845-634-7828 x125 or rocklandchurches@gmail.com

Hitting the Street in Albany and East Ramapo

Assembly Members Jaffee and Zebrowski, along with Education Chair Nolan, meet with students from East Ramapo who are delivering a petition with over 6,000 signatures asking for state intervention.

Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. School Board Campaign Hits the Streets
2. Protests at School Board Meetings Continue
3. Volunteer Opportunity at Ramapo HS
4. Former Board Member Favors Monitor
5. Message from the Editor

1) School Board Campaign Hits the Streets

Many of those who attended last weekend’s campaign event volunteered to talk to their neighbors about the issues and the upcoming (May 19) election.

YOU can also participate! Just send me a note at steve@poweroften.us, and I will set you up with handouts and instructions.

If going door to door is not your thing, you might want to make some phone calls host a meet and greet fundraiser. Just send me a note and let me know what you are willing to do.

Of course, EVERYONE can make an online donation at: https://charlespierremoraleswhite.wordpress.com/donate-to-the-cause/, The amount you give is completely up to you.

If you would like to go with a group, we will be gathering at the BRAVO parking lot (corner Eckerson Rd and Rt 45) on Saturday at 11:30 AM.

2) Protests at School Board Meetings Continue

According to the NYS Fiscal Monitor, the East Ramapo Board “appears to favor the interests of private schools over public schools”. If you do not accept second class status, YOU MUST COME OUT and protest at the school board meetings. Invite your friends! Make a sign! If not now, when?

The next meeting is scheduled for April 21, at 7:30 PM, the protest will be held at 7:00.

The address is 105 S. Madison Ave, Spring Valley

To receive reminders about meetings or cancellations, text the word POWEROFTEN to 84483 from your mobile phone.

3) Volunteer Opportunity at Ramapo HS

Saturday April 25 from 10 AM to 3 PM at Ramapo HS, 400 Viola Rd, Spring Valley, NY

Bring your own garden tools and help spruce up Ramapo HS!
More info: 845-634-7828 x125 or rocklandchurches@gmail.com

4) Former Board Member Favors Monitor

Former East Ramapo School Board member Mimi Calhoun has written a letter to the Journal News which succinctly makes the case for a monitor.

View: In East Ramapo, it’s about governance

5. Message from the Editor

Over the past several years, multiple independent organizations have looked at the actions of the East Ramapo School Board. The Education Department has cited them multiple times for failure to comply with federal and state law. The Commissioner ruled the board “abused its discretion” in the sale of Hillcrest Elementary school.  The State Attorney General prosecuted one individual involved in the sale, the appraiser, who plead guilty to filing a false instrument. The investigation continues, and the Commissioner has ruled that the board cannot spend public dollars on a lawyer defending board members from the Attorney General’s inquiries. In the media there have been multiple investigations, most notably on “This American Life“. The attention culminated with an investigation at the request of Governor Cuomo, and the report by respected former federal prosecutor Hank Greenberg confirmed what all the others (and especially the students and parents) had been claiming.  The problems in East Ramapo are not the fault of the state formula, or the parents, or the teachers. NY State did not cause this crisis, but it is ONLY NY State that can solve it. We will be visiting Albany on April 28 to advocate that the bill for a monitor in East Ramapo becomes law. I want to thank all of the readers of this newsletter for your continued support, and encourage you to redouble your efforts now at this crucial moments, when a legal remedy to our crisis is within sight.

50 Years after Selma, Time to March for Civil Rights Again

Power of Ten Update

In This Issue:

1. Bus to Albany
2. School Board Election Campaign Event Saturday
3. Protests Continue
4. Call Your Representative
5. Martin Luther King Center Event Sunday

1) Get On This Bus!

On April 28, buses will leave Rockland for Albany, bound to deliver our message of support for the Bill for Oversight for East Ramapo. Fifty years after the march from Selma to Montgomery, students civil right to an education is under attack in East Ramapo. Please join us and our local legislators as we visit Albany to advocate for oversight and change in East Ramapo!

So, take the day off from work. Bring the kids. Bring your neighbors. Bring your friends. If you ever spent a moment asking yourself what you could do that would most help the children to have an opportunity for a better education, THIS IS IT!!!

Sign up right now at http://www.strongeastramapo.org/april28/

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1420180211628079/

2) School Election Update

The school board election is May 19. You can get involved by coming to an informational event. Learn about the issues and how you can get involved. This campaign period is short. All of us will need to participate and solicit others to help us as well. Please ask your friends and neighbors to join us. We need all of you to help communicate with the voting public so they will be aware of how the school boards fiscal mismanagement is destroying our kids future and our home values. This effort is dedicated to providing the information that every voter need to know.

Date: Saturday April 11, 2015
Time: 2:00 – 4:00pm
Location: Hillcrest Firehouse
300 North Main St, Hillcrest NY
Rear of Building entrance and parking

Please RSVP to miller66@optonline.net if you can come

3) Protests Continue

According to the NYS Fiscal Monitor, the East Ramapo Board “appears to favor the interests of private schools over public schools”. If you do not accept second class status, YOU MUST COME OUT and protest at the school board meetings. Invite your friends! Make a sign! If not now, when? 

The next meeting is scheduled for April 14, at 7:30 PM, the protest will be held at 7:00.

The address is 105 S. Madison Ave, Spring Valley

To receive reminders about meetings or cancellations, text the word POWEROFTEN to 84483 from your mobile phone.

4) Call Your Representative

Both the Assembly and the Senate are not meeting for a few more weeks, so representatives are in their districts for the rest of this week, listening to their constituents.  That means today is the perfect day for you to call your own Assembly Member and/or Senator‘s district office.  (Or to urge the New Yorkers you know to do the same.)
You can call to THANK your representative if he or she has already co-sponsored the bill. That includes Assembly Members Jaffee, Galef, Glick, O’Donnell, Rivera, Solages, Zebrowski, Skoufis, Hooper, Rodriguez, Gottfried, Dinowitz, Paulin, Abinanti, Lavine, Otis, Bichotte, and Senators Carlucci, Krueger, Larkin, Latimer, Savino. 
Otherwise, you can call to URGE your representative to support it.  Here’s what you can say:
Hello!  My name is X, and I am a constituent in your district.  I am calling because I want to urge your office to support [Assembly Bill 5355 / Senate Bill 3821], in favor of state oversight of the East Ramapo School District.  Can I count on your office to support this bill?  I’d love to see the representative’s name as a co-sponsor.
Do not let them tell you that the bill is in the Education Committee and therefore too premature to support.  Many of the names above (like Otis and Savino) are not members of the Committee, nor are from Rockland.  If the offices need more information, they can visit www.strongeastramapo.org.
Send a message to strongeastramapo@gmail.com once you’ve called to let us know what happened.
5) Martin Luther King Center Event

The Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center Inc. is pleased to invite you to its 24nd.Annual Awards Benefit Dinner Dance on Sunday, April 12th, 2015, from 4:00 pm – 9:00pm at the Clubhouse at Patriot Hills, 19 Clubhouse Lane, Stony Point, NY.

Click Here For ticket information and to purchase tickets online.

The Center is experiencing severe financial challenges that are the result of the loss of substantial government funding. Each year we honor a select group of individuals and organizations whose commitment to Rockland County, or to the Center, make them deserving of this tribute. We hope that as we celebrate outstanding Rocklanders, we can continue working together to create a stronger, more inclusive, and non-violent “Beloved Community,” that honors the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.