Election Reports; Teacher up for a Grammy

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Election Reports
  2. Message From Our candidates
  3. Save East Ramapo Bill Now More Important Than Ever
  4. East Ramapo Featured on NPR Again
  5. Former E Ramapo Music Teacher Up for a Grammy

1) Election Reports:

East Ramapo school budget defeated, Orthodox-backed candidates win

East Ramapo school officials approve more cuts in wake of failed budget

UPDATE: Ramapo Revisited, School Board Election and the Future of a Community

Hatton Not Happy With E. Ramapo Vote

2) Message from Our Candidates:

The candidates Margaret Tuck, Eustache Clerveaux and Robert Forrest would like to thank each and every Grand Mother, Grand Father, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Aunt and Uncle who came out to support us given the challenges before us. Although we lost, we must keep moving forward. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “If WE can’t fly, we must run. If WE can’t run, we must walk. If WE can’t walk, we must crawl but whatever we do WE MUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

NEXT STEPS:

3) Save East Ramapo Bill Now More Important Than Ever

This bill gives the NYS Commissioner of Education more power to intervene in East Ramapo

The petition is open to all people, regardless of your age, residency status, or where you live, so please invite all your friends far and near

http://poweroften.us/sign-the-petition/

Join the Petition Event on Facebook:

4) East Ramapo featured on NPR Again!

Journal News Reporter Mareesa Nicosia was the featured guest on the Brian Lehrer show today. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2013/may/23/ramapo-school-board-vote/

5) Former E Ramapo Music Teacher Up for a Grammy

Former music teacher and director of the World Famous East Ramapo Marching Band Michael E. Smith has made the quarterfinals for the first ever Grammy award for a music educator! He was chosen as one of 217 finalists out of over 30,000 nominations. After being let go by East Ramapo, Mr. Smith took the Nyack Marching Band to their first ever state competition … and WON!  Wherever Mr. Smith is teaching, he will forever belong to East Ramapo, his alma mater.  We are all sending POSITIVE POWER OF TEN ENERGY for his continued success!!!

Vote Today; Polling Place Update; Shameful Behavior by Candidates

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

1.    Vote Today

2.    Polling Place Update

3.    A Question of Integrity

 

1) Vote Today

Today, Tuesday May 21 is Election Day.  It is very important that every eligible person get out to vote, and that everyone, whether you can vote or not, spread the word and get others to vote.

There are three school board seats which will be decided; our candidates are:

Margaret Tuck – Eustache Clerveaux – Robert Forrest

Information on the candidates

Information on where to vote

A vote for our three candidates is a vote for integrity, for transparency, for putting children’s education back as the priority for East Ramapo. 

2) Polling Place Update

The RCC Annex is closed.

Voters who voted there last year will vote at the Louis Kurtz Civic Center, 9 N Main St. in Spring Valley this year.

Other polling places remain the same.

There has been some confusion caused by the Rockland County Board of Elections which sent out cards regarding a change in the polling place for the general election.  It is unfortunate that these cards were sent right before the school board election.  Please be aware that except for the RCC Annex moving to the Kurtz center, all other polls are the same as last year. Polling place info is available at www.poweroften.us/voting-info

3) A Question of Integrity

In the past, candidates who support public education have worked together to promote unity in the community.  This year we are seeing a very strange group of candidates using dishonest tactics to appeal to voters who want better education, for instance by sending a mailer which lists full day kindergarten as a goal.  This mailer, which was in English, French and Spanish, included a message to vote YES for the budget in French and Spanish, but not English.  However, the same candidates also had a newspaper ad in a Yiddish language newspaper saying to stop out of control spending and to vote NO on the budget in English.

It would seem that these three candidates are being dishonest in some way with their advertising.  It would seem that perhaps they hope to trick people. This seems to be a new low in East Ramapo Elections, and that is saying a lot.

 

How to Help with East Ramapo Election Tuesday

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Phone Bank Monday
  2. Help Needed on Election Day

1) Phone Bank Monday

We had a very productive phone bank on Saturday.  It is a fun and easy way to help get out the vote.  We will provide you with a script and list of phone numbers.  Most people are already aware of the issues and are happy to be reminded about the details.

When: Monday May 20th, 2013

Where: 873 Route 45 (corner of New Hempstead Rd) on the 2nd floor. Entrance is on New Hempstead Rd (aka rte. 80)

Time: 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM

2) Help Needed on Election Day

Can you help out on Election Day?  Please send a message to steve@poweroften.us if you are able to volunteer some time.

Tuesday May 21 is Election Day.  It is very important that every eligible person get out to vote, and that everyone, whether you can vote or not, spread the word and get others to vote.

There are three school board seats which will be decided; our candidates are:

Margaret Tuck – Eustache Clerveaux – Robert Forrest

Information on the candidates

Information on where to vote

Vote Tuesday; Tuck – Clerveaux – Forrest

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Vote on Tuesday
  2. Phone Bank Saturday and Monday
  3. More Campaigning this Weekend
  4. Help Needed on Election Day

1) Vote on Tuesday

Tuesday May 21 is Election Day.  It is very important that every eligible person get out to vote, and that everyone, whether you can vote or not, spread the word and get others to vote.

There are three school board seats which will be decided; our candidates are:

Margaret Tuck – Eustache Clerveaux – Robert Forrest

Information on the candidates

Information on where to vote

2) Phone Bank Saturday and Monday

When: Saturday May 18th and Monday May 20th, 2013

Where: 873 Route 45 (corner of New Hempstead Rd) on the 2nd floor. Entrance is on New Hempstead Rd (aka rte. 80)

Time: 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM both days

3) More Campaigning

We will meet in the parking lot in front of the Bravo Supermarket in Hillcrest and immediately begin canvassing neighborhoods.  Please wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.

Where: Parking lot at Bravo Supermarket, 289 North Main Street in Hillcrest

When: Saturday, May 18 at 12:00 Noon

 4) Help Needed on Election Day

Can you help out on Election Day?  Please send a message to steve@poweroften.us if you are able to volunteer some time.

Special Ed Parents: Important Meeting Monday May 13; NAACP Forum Reports

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Special Ed Parents Meeting Monday
  2. Candidate Forum Reports
  3. Message from the editor

1) Special Ed Parents Meeting

Does your child struggle in school?

If so, is he/she getting the necessary services to make him/her successful?

Is your child getting ALL the special education services that he/she is entitled to by law?

Do you worry your child will be left behind?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you MUST come to this meeting!

Guest speakers: Attorneys from Advocates for Justice – Laura Barbieri & Arthur Schwartz and NAACP President – Willie J. Trotman

Date: Monday, May 13, 2013

Location: Champion Day camp 175 W. Clarkstown Rd. New City

Time: 7 – 9 PM

2) Candidate Forum Reports

Thursday Evening some 125 people turned out to the annual candidate’s forum hosted by NAACP and JAMCARR.  Issues discussed included the lack of respect shown to the parents and students in the audience at board meetings and the continuing wildly inaccurate numbers being thrown around and presented as a ‘budget’.  There were also many questions from the audience regarding the quality of education being provided in the schools.

Media coverage of the forum:

Three E. Ramapo candidates reject NAACP invite

East Ramapo schools contender ditches forum for Hasidic rally

3) Message from the editor:

It is truly sad that one of our school board members would choose to attend a rally against the internet instead of attending the NAACP forum.  The internet has revolutionized, science, socialization, news delivery and freedom of information.  It epitomizes the freedom of thought which is at heart of democracy.  Tyrants and dictators censor the internet, because of the ‘danger’ of an informed public.  It is the very uncontrollableness of the internet that makes it a mainstay of scientific and democratic thought and the bane of tyrants and dictators.

Did our school board candidate carefully research the issue before deciding where to go on Thursday?  Did he perhaps have a chance to read this amazing article on the subject before he threw his lot in with the anti-internet crowd? Or perhaps he is blinded by a romanticized notion of the ultra-Orthodox way of life – the heartbreaking irony; multiculturalism and religious tolerance touted by a community that has zero tolerance for any way of life other than its own.

I had a chance to speak with former East Ramapo administrator Pedro Santana after the forum. Pedro was in the process of re-designing the environment of our schools when the Hasidic dominated board fired him.  As Sir Ken Robinson has pointed out, “The real role of leadership in education … is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is climate control, creating a climate of possibility.”

Interestingly, after they ousted Mr. Santana despite the pleas of public school parents, students, and staff to keep him, a teacher was hired to work in a yeshiva despite having provided inaccurate information about her credentials.  When the hiring was questioned, the school board president said if that’s who the (yeshiva) parents want for their kids, who are we to question them?

Another prominent figure in the life of the students of East Ramapo, Michael Smith, was also let go in a crushing blow to student and staff morale.  Can it be coincidence that the two most creative and charismatic male figures in our community were so publicly and ruthlessly severed from the students who loved them?

I believe the Hasidic dominated school board has systematically and purposefully decimated the public school system as a means of lowering the property values and inducing an emigration of public school users. At the same time they have deliberately stoked the fires of divisiveness as a cover for their calculating plans to enrich an elite few real estate speculators.

A report by the Journal News last year revealed for the first time the professions of the board members who hold the majority position on the board, but have never released information about themselves to the parents whose sole concern is their children’s future or the wider community which has invested billions of dollars to build a world class school system. Their investment is now in the hands of people whose interests are antithetical to public education and freedom of thought.

I apologize for the overly long editorial.  I hope you have had time to follow the links, and feel motivated to get involved.  In addition to Voting for Clerveaux Tuck and Forrest on May 21, you can sign the petition and check out other ways to help at http://poweroften.us/about/what-can-i-do/

Steven White, editor of The Power of Ten

East Ramapo Candidates Forum Today

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Candidates Forum Today
  2. Online Petition over 3,500!
  3. Is Divisiveness Dangerous?
  4. East Ramapo Student featured on NPR

1) Candidates Forum Today:

Thursday May 9, at 6:30 pm

Louis Kurtz Center, 9 N. Main St in Spring Valley

NAACP and other community organizations have teamed up to provide the community an opportunity to get to know the candidates and the issues.  All are invited.

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/149441745236212/

Before the Forum, tune in to the East Ramapo Underground Radio Show on WRCR-1300AM right after the ten o’clock news.

2) Save East Ramapo Petition has 3,500 signatures!!!

Thank you to all who have signed the petition for the “Save East Ramapo” bill. This bill gives the NYS Commissioner of Education more power to intervene in East Ramapo

This petition is open to all people, regardless of your age, residency status, or where you live, so please invite all your friends far and near

http://poweroften.us/sign-the-petition/

Join the Petition Event on Facebook:

3) Is Divisiveness Dangerous?

An important new article from The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange examines the impact of divisiveness in East Ramapo.

The author, a professor of journalism at CUNY, has masterfully captured the clearest picture of our divided community by interviewing not just the politicians and activists, but the ‘regular’ people:

“Their kids, the private kids, and our kids, they’re the same amount of American, you know,” said Elsa Palma, in Spanish from behind a glass counter filled with cosmetics. “We’re in America. Everyone deserves a chance.”

I hope everyone will take time to read this article:

4) East Ramapo Student featured on NPR THIS AM at 11:00

Olivia Castor, Spring Valley High School senior and Vice President of the Spring Valley NAACP Youth Council will appear on the WNYC Brian Lehrer Show this morning in the 11:10 segment.

Ms. Castor will be attending Harvard University in September 2013. You may remember her presentation at the Save Our Schools Forum in April. She was recently featured in Benjamin Wallace-Wells NY Magazine story “Them and Them.”

Budget Hearing Today; Court Appearance Report; Powerful New Article

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Court Appearance Report
  2. Online Petition WOW!!!
  3. Upcoming Events
  4. New Media Coverage

1) Court Appearance Report

Newsday: East Ramapo lawsuit: Parents can demand documents on special ed. cases

Journal News: Judge allows class-action suit against East Ramapo to proceed

Learn more about the civil rights lawsuit

2) Save East Ramapo Petition has 3,174 signatures!!!

Thank you to all who have signed the petition for the “Save East Ramapo” bill. This bill gives the NYS Commissioner of Education more power to intervene in East Ramapo

This petition is open to all people, regardless of your age, residency status, or where you live, so please invite all your friends far and near

http://poweroften.us/sign-the-petition/

Join the Petition Event on Facebook:

3) Upcoming Events:

School Board Budget Hearing

Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 PM (Today!)

105 S Madison Ave Spring Valley

NAACP Candidates Forum

Thursday May 9, at 6:30 pm

Louis Kurtz Center, Main/Madison Avenue in Spring Valley.

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/149441745236212/

4) New Media Coverage:

An important new article from The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:

Public Kid vs. Private Kid Divide in One New York Community Turns Dangerous

Listen and call in on Friday:

East Ramapo Underground Radio Show

Friday, May 10th on WRCR-1300AM right after the ten o’clock news.

Reminder: Court Date Today

Power of Ten Update

In this Issue:

  1. Reminder: Court Appearance Today
  2. Online Petition WOW!!!
  3. More Campaigning this Weekend

1) Reminder: Court Appearance Today

YOU are invited to attend

May 2 at 3:00 PM

Federal Courthouse Room 421 – Judge George Yanthis

300 Quarropas Street White Plains, NY

Learn more about the civil rights lawsuit

2) Save East Ramapo Petition has 2,224 signatures!!!

Thank you to all who have signed the petition for the “Save East Ramapo” bill. This bill gives the NYS Commissioner of Education more power to intervene in East Ramapo.

This petition is open to all people, regardless of your age, residency status, or where you live, so please invite all your friends far and near.

http://poweroften.us/sign-the-petition/

Join the Petition Event on Facebook:

3) More Campaigning

We will meet in the parking lot in front of the Bravo Supermarket in Hillcrest and immediately begin canvassing neighborhoods.  Please wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.  Our candidates this year are Margaret Tuck, Eustache Clerveaux, and Robert Forrest.

Where: Parking lot at Bravo Supermarket, 289 North Main Street in Hillcrest

When: Saturday, May 4 at 12:00 Noon