East Ramapo: The Case Against The School Board
Advocates for Justice helped parents, students and community members to improve the quality of public education offered in the East Ramapo Central School District. A4J handled a legal action against members of the East Ramapo Central School District school board – members who had supported and participated in the deliberate and inappropriate use of public education funds to support private schools. These board actions created many tensions within the district.
When A4J took on the case, East Ramapo schools had been in decline; they were not serving children well and were under-performing public schools in surrounding districts and in the rest of New York State. District students lost numerous teachers, valuable programs, and other important resources that make good education possible. In addition, there was a clear pattern of increased segregation of students by race and religion, with children of color disproportionately represented in public schools and white orthodox and Hasidic children being placed in private religious schools, known as yeshivas.
The United States Constitution prohibits the use of public funds to promote or favor any religion. In the East Ramapo Central School District, however, public dollars were used to benefit yeshivas in inappropriate ways, instead of those dollars working for the benefit of the public school system. Our clients, parents and taxpayers in East Ramapo, were committed to serving the educational needs of all the District’s children and their families – not simply those from one special interest group. The goal of the case was the removal of five existing members of the school board and the appointment of an independent “Monitor” by New York State to oversee the actions of the board to ensure that the District's money is spent correctly because all children are entitled to a quality education.
When A4J took on the case, East Ramapo schools had been in decline; they were not serving children well and were under-performing public schools in surrounding districts and in the rest of New York State. District students lost numerous teachers, valuable programs, and other important resources that make good education possible. In addition, there was a clear pattern of increased segregation of students by race and religion, with children of color disproportionately represented in public schools and white orthodox and Hasidic children being placed in private religious schools, known as yeshivas.
The United States Constitution prohibits the use of public funds to promote or favor any religion. In the East Ramapo Central School District, however, public dollars were used to benefit yeshivas in inappropriate ways, instead of those dollars working for the benefit of the public school system. Our clients, parents and taxpayers in East Ramapo, were committed to serving the educational needs of all the District’s children and their families – not simply those from one special interest group. The goal of the case was the removal of five existing members of the school board and the appointment of an independent “Monitor” by New York State to oversee the actions of the board to ensure that the District's money is spent correctly because all children are entitled to a quality education.