12-20-2012

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Community Rally preserves Kindergarten, Arts programs (for now)
  2. Your Help Needed: Petition Drive to appoint an oversight monitor
  3. Please support the class action civil rights lawsuit
  4. Media Coverage

1) Community Rally preserves Kindergarten, Arts programs (for now)

Over 400 Community members, mostly parents, rallied at the school board meeting Tuesday night to demand that essential programs including Kindergarten, Music and Art be preserved.

These programs had been proposed to be cut in the middle of the school year due to errors in budget planning by the districts administrators.

The Commissioner of Education has put East Ramapo Superintendent Klein and the school board on notice that they must put their fiscal house in order. He is requiring a full financial accounting and a plan by January 2nd.

The board not only failed to take any action, not even to adjourn the meeting. Several board members simply walked out!

The result is that Kindergarten and Art programs were not cut on Tuesday!

2) Petition Drive to Appoint an Oversight Monitor for East Ramapo

The school children of East Ramapo need the State to protect their basic rights to an education.

Problems in the governance of East Ramapo are a substantial factor in the district’s chronic under-performance and current fiscal crisis.

We are asking Governor Cuomo and Commissioner King to appoint a State Oversight monitor to take charge of the financial and educational administration of the East Ramapo Central School District.

Please sign the petition TODAY, and share it with all your email and social media contacts.

The petition is online at: http://poweroften.us/petition/

3) Please support the class action lawsuit:

Advocates for Justice, a New York based, non-profit, public interest law firm, has filed a class action, civil rights lawsuit on behalf of East Ramapo School District parents, students, and taxpayers.

Advocates for Justice is not charging us a fee for this action, but they are in need funds to continue this fight. They are asking us to contribute what we can. Monthly amounts are especially helpful (and easier on tight family budgets!)

Be part of the solution, contribute online, or mail a check to:

Advocates for Justice

225 Broadway, Suite 1902

New York, NY 10007

4) Media Coverage

Highlights from the meeting are available at http://www.youtube.com/luckylouproduction

Newsday Westchester/Rockland Edition: http://newyork.newsday.com/rockland/east-ramapo-again-delays-vote-on-cuts-1.4350750

The Journal News: http://www.lohud.com/article/20121219/NEWS03/312190062/East-Ramapo-cuts-put-off-again