The New York Civil Liberties Union recently filed a suit against East Ramapo, New York. The town school board has been almost completely captured by members of the Orthodox Jewish Community, whose children attend private religious schools. The school board uses its power to strip the budget for the students who attend public schools, who are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic.
Teacher Bianca Tanis, a member of the board of directors of New York State Allies for Public Education, here describes this shameful situation and calls on the Nee York State United Teachers to take action to protect the children of the East Ramapo District.
She writes:
“96% of public school students in the East Ramapo Central School District are Black and Latino while 98% of the students attending private schools are white with most attending private religious schools. Only one of the nine Board of Education seats is held by a public school parent. Needless to say, the Board of Education has NOT acted in the best interest of East Ramapo’s 8,500 public school students.
“The New York Civil Liberties union found that between 2009 and 2014 the East Ramapo Board of Education slashed funding to public schools and eliminated 200 teaching positions in addition to cutting numerous social workers and other key personnel.
“According the the NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman, “The East Ramapo school district has effectively disenfranchised the Black and Latino community and allowed white residents to hijack the school board in service of the lily-white private schools. The East Ramapo school board has brazenly diverted taxpayer funds to bankroll white private schools and destabilize public schools. Their policies have compromised the education and well-being of thousands of Black and Latino children. The disenfranchisement and degradation must end.”
“What is happening in East Ramapo is tragic. I have seen it with my own eyes…
“The NYCLU lawsuit demands that the board stop holding elections until a “ward” system is adopted. This would introduce voting on the basis of geographic districts; there would be nine individual districts, with one member elected to the board from each district.”
This situation did not develop overnight. The Regents and the legislature have allowed it to fester, while the children of East Ramapo are cheated.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks for this post; fyi its filled with glitchy typos.
You are right! I didn’t proof read. I fixed all the typos.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
Wow. There is should be a statement included with being sworn into office that is similar to the Hippocratic Oath, “Though Shall Do No Harm”
The East Ramapo situation developed in this way because the state legislature gets bought off by those who can afford to pay with dollars or with political goodies. In this case, the East Ramapo orthodox community is part of a much larger community of orthodox people who live mostly in Brooklyn. They have concentrated political power, they have high voter turnout, and they vote as one bloc. Elected officials are loathe to go against the bloc’s interests, or risk being booted out of office. This is one of the many “special interests” that control our state government. It’s really that simple. This is not about the public school children at all. Their poor schooling is collateral damage in a political game stacked against low-income and minority people.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a governor who cared about ALL God’s children?
I am very familiar with East Ramapo’s plight as I have many friends, including two former superintendents as well as retired teachers, that saw this coming thirty years ago. When I was looking to buy a home in Monsey, NY years ago, I was warned by Jewish friends to steer clear of East Ramapo because it was being taken over by the Hasidim. They have, in fact, bought up most of the real estate, and they control the school board because the community votes as a block. One of my Jewish friends, a brilliant educator with an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia U. and former superintendent of East Ramapo, was publicly fired and escorted off the property by local police, because he stood up to the Hasidim. The imbalance of power in this town is unique, and it is an example of where democracy does not work in this community
I cannot help but be reminded of something I read deep in the recesses of my past to the effect that religions are more of a positive influence on society when they are out of power. Historian JB Bury suggested that “a theologian on the throne is a public danger.”
Once I was in Oxford, New York. We had been camping and were washing clothes in a laundromat when we got into a conversation with a lady who identified herself as an Orthodox Jew from Isreal. We really enjoyed our conversation, but imbedded in it was a phrase that sent chills down my spine. Somehow the conversation had turned to the violence Isreal was experiencing then. She came out with a phrase: “The Palestinians are not people.” I remember being speechless. Here was a person whose people had been subjected to genocide in memory for the very reason she was applying to her political opponents. I have long contemplated how such a bright and engaging person could come out with such a phrase.
I realize this is a bit off topic, but I wonder if the insertion of religion into politics has the ability to overpower reason always, making it possible for real beliefs to be skewed. Rahm Mohun Roy, who motivated reform of India in the early 1800s implied that Hinduism had strayed from its path in its dominance. We all should consider our own belief system within the limitations of humanity.
I once had an Orthodox student teacher that was an educated and delightful woman. She spoke out against the Hasidim for child marriages, not educating females, and for fraudulent practices of collecting welfare illegally. She had nothing good to say about them.
Were any public school advocates invited to Jeb Bush’s education summit?
These people are directing public school policy. I really think we should have at least one advocate for public schools present.
Charter and voucher advocates are there in force. Why are advocates for the schools that serve 90% of US families excluded?
We need boards who will fight for ALL public school students not just the ones in private schools or the ones in charter schools. But we do need local boards directing our schools.
Public school families, teachers and leaders are once again excluded from the high level decision-making at Jeb bush’s education conference.
Gosh, I hope the Best and Brightest let us know what their plans for our schools are.
Can I get someone who actually values public schools to set public school policy? That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask.
It’s all by design. And the Designers are winning. In fact, they may have already won and are just keeping us ignorant as usual. I am am so sick of being played.
And elected officials are terrified of standing up the Hasids, since they vote as a bloc. It’s officially-sanctioned looting.
Oh, and by the way, given their reactionary politics, gross sexism and unscrupulous behavior when dealing with goyim, why are they not called religious fundamentalists?
That is why I think it is important not to paint all the Orthodox with the same broad brush. The Hasidim are a radical branch of orthodoxy. We can see the devastation when they control a community. My student teacher opened my eyes to the distinction as did several Jewish friends and colleagues.
I agree, retired teacher, which is why I referred to Hasidim, not Orthodox Jews, who are very different.
So much for Tikuun Olam . . . But the Hasids are outliers to Jews, who have been pioneers in civil and labor rights among so much else.
Nonetheless, the Hasidim in East Ramapo are disgraceful. More so, so is the government and law that allows and enables them to steal from public schools.
They are outliers on an aggregate scale, but in the regions where they live, they often become a dominant political force, due to their organization, fertility and obedience to Rabbinnical fiat.
NYC has become a politically more conservative place in part because of the explosive growth of Hasidic sects in Brooklyn, which has been spilling over into Rockland, Orange and Sullivan Counties north of the city, and the complicity of elected officials in their often brazenly illegal and unethical behavior. The redistribution of public school funds to private yeshivas in Spring Valley and East Ramapo, NY, a form of looting with more than small racial component, are cases in point.
The history of this situation is described in a podcast of This American Life from a few years ago.
“Not So Simple Majority”
It is very sad for the public school students.
I listened to that one as well. Very well presented yet terrifying.
I gather this is a problem in several communities in the Hudson Valley–radical Hasidim wresting complete control of municipal bureaucracies and infrastructures and using that power to exclude other members of the community from public services.
Personally, I don’t care who does this–unscrupulous behavior is ethnically neutral. Everyone does it. So why are people who oppose this charged with anti-Semitism? I would speak out against this no matter who did it, and for whatever reason. So, incidentally, do many of my Jewish friends.
East Ramapo is in Rockland County, and Kyras Joel is in Orange. My former student teacher who spoke Yiddish went on to teach ESL in Kyras Joel. Most of the children in this community do not speak much English until they reach school.
This story is similar to Lawrence on Long Island. But also indicative of a general move to squeeze out public Schools all over. In essence Eva Moskowitz is doing the same thing. And billionaire attempts to take over school boards too. Bloomberg and Klein in NYC in a dozen years began the decimation of the school system. Just as sea level rise is inevitable the strangulation of public Schools is inevitable. There’s a grand scheme that includes social security and Medicare and just about all public services.
“Just as sea level rise is inevitable the strangulation of public Schools is inevitable. There’s a grand scheme that includes social security and Medicare and just about all public services.”
Yep, and if Trump and the GOP have their way, it’s all going to start tumbling down with their Reverse Robin Hood tax bill.
What’s going on in East Ramopo is probably exactly what DeVos wants to see everywhere, only with her 75% of the country dominant fellow Christians running things.
This is where the founders of this country realized that democracy ALONE is not how to establish a nation. Democracy needs the establishment of rights that protect the interests of the citizens in the minority. But our culture has forgotten that. On both sides.
Sometimes you don’t get what you want. But as long as your rights are protected you can live to fight another day. Or you can throw a temper tantrum and insist that if you can’t get your way why not elect Hitler. And ignore the people warning you that electing a man who doesn’t believe in the basic preservation of minority rights is how fascism begins.
Many people who oppose school choice/vouchers, tout the benefits of democracy, and local control of schools. This is exactly what is happening in this community. The majority, has taken control of the school policy, and the citizens have to live with the results.
The requirements for voting in the state of New York, are such that having children in publicly-operated schools, is not a requirement. Also, you need not have children in publicly-operated schools, to serve on a school board.
Democracy in action!
No, Charles, this is a distortion of democracy. This crowd of Hasidim have taken control of the school board to lower their taxes and benefit their children, who attend private schools. This is a raid on public schools, which denies the rights of the children in public schools, almost all of whoom are black and Hispanic. When the school board fails in its duty, the state must intervene to protect the children.
Tyranny of the majority (or the tyranny of those voting in a bloc against their largely- immigrant neighbors) is not democracy, Charles.
I guess it’s to be expected they didn’t teach you that at the indoctrination center where you were trained…
Michael,
The concerns about a tyranny of the majority has long been a topic in political philosophy, and one that I think advocates of school control by elected school boards should worry about.
What safeguards would you suggest to protect the minority from the will of the majority in local school districts? There are some restrictions on local school board actions revolving around civil rights, but that is clearly not enough in East Ramapo. Should they be expanded, and if so, would you be happy with the increased level of state and/or federal intervention in K-12 schools?
East Ramapo is an outlier.
I think your implication is that democracy should be replaced by corporate rule.
You sound like a James Buchanan-trained libertarian. Have you read Nancy MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains”?
teachingeconomist,
Were the safeguards that already exist to be enforced – as is clearly not happening in East Ramapo and Spring Valley – then they would be sufficient. The issue in this case is brazen violation of the law being tolerated because the political strength of those committing the violations, along with the weakness and/or venality of those charged with enforcing the law, is allowing them to act with such impunity.
teachingeconomist,
The board in Ramapo is breaking the law.
If a local school board decided that it was simply going to refuse to teach special needs kids, it would be sued in court.
Back when Ramapo was not controlled by people who believe democracy is the same tyranny of the majority, the board funded buses for parochial children. They funded special needs programs for them. They did not say “how can we use our power to give our own children lots of financial advantages that are paid for by children we don’t like.”
Putin took over a country in which there is a belief that as long as you have power, that gives you full license to enrich yourself and be above the law. You are in power, ergo, everything you do is legal.
Donald Trump is the full reflection of this. I have no doubt that Trump is a hero to the Ramapo board.
MIchael,
I agree that the existing limitations on the autonomy of local school boards put in place by the federal government, respective state governments, and the courts are often enough to prevent East Ramapo like issues in most districts, but the East Ramampo situation has been going on for so long that it does lead one to question the effectiveness of these limitations if there is a large enough majority in the school district.
I think it likely that new restrictions will be placed on local school boards in the future. One example that I think will be important is to move the starting time for high schools to 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning without limiting access to classes (at my local high school some of the music classes require students to be on campus by 7:00 a.m., the regular day begins at 8:00 a.m.). The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have all called on local school boards to begin high school later in the day. For the most part the school boards have ignored the threat to student health and learning that are posed by these early start times in middle and high schools.
I was pointing out that the tyranny of the majority, is a serious problem. The founders, especially John Adams, warned of this problem. see
http://dontknowmuch.com/2013/07/the-will-of-the-people-or-the-tyranny-of-the-majority/
Since the publicly operated schools in this community, are obviously failing the citizens/children, maybe the solution might lie in giving families additional choices.
Charles,
Please read “Reign of Error.” Public schools are not “failing.” Our society is failing its children. Half of American children qualify for free or reduced price lunch because their families are poor. Choice does not erase poverty. Choice puts children in schools with uncertified teachers. The plot results of charters and vouchers are now evident. Why do you want to defund public schools?
Q Public schools are not “failing.”
-I do not claim, and I have never claimed, that public schools are “failing”. As I have said repeatedly, there are many fine public schools all over this land. The quality of public schools, varies wildly, though. Obviously, the public schools in this community (E. Ramapo) are failing to deliver a quality education to the children of the community.
Our society is failing its children.
-I am more in agreement, than you realize. Today’s children, are tomorrow’s adults. We have to live in the society. that will be populated and run, by today’s children. If we fail them, we all lose. It is in our self-interest, to support children.
Half of American children qualify for free or reduced price lunch because their families are poor.
– Where did you get this statistic? I am certain, that the number of children who are born into poverty is unacceptably high.
Choice does not erase poverty.
– No one ever said that it did. The formula for wealth, is “work,family,faith”. See “Wealth and Poverty” by George Gilder.
Choice puts children in schools with uncertified teachers.
-Why do you say this? There are many non-public schools, which employ teachers, that are certified. Many non-public schools are accredited, and deliver a quality education to their students. Unlike publicly-operated schools, families who are unsatisfied with a non-public school, can withdraw their children from the dysfunctional school. Families whose children are in public schools, which are not performing, do not have this luxury. (at least not yet)
The plot results of charters and vouchers are now evident. Why do you want to defund public schools?
I do NOT want to “defund” public schools. I want to give parents more options in how and where to have their children educated. There are many choice programs, in public schools. In Arizona, parents are not trapped into one district. Parents are free to enroll their children, in any public school, they wish, regardless of location. In Illinois, qualifying students can transfer to the Illinois Math and Science Academy (This public school accepts only qualifying students, the school is NOT required to accept all applicants).
I would like to see additional funding going to K-12 education, particularly in economically-depressed areas. I would like to see additional funding going to nutrition, and extra-curricular activities, in areas that could benefit from this funding.
I would like to see more public schools, embrace appropriate technologies, like distance-learning, etc. (Keeping in mind, that “things don’t teach, Teachers teach”).
Reading comprehension’s not your thing, is it? “96% of public school students in the East Ramapo Central School District are Black and Latino while 98% of the students attending private schools are white with most attending private religious schools. Only one of the nine Board of Education seats is held by a public school parent.”
Charles,
I posted this comment right above but I am posting it again because it is a direct reply to your kind of misunderstanding of what democracy is.
This is why the founders of this country realized that democracy ALONE is not how to establish a nation. Democracy needs the establishment of rights that protect the interests of the citizens in the minority. But our culture has forgotten that. On both sides.
Sometimes you don’t get what you want. But as long as your rights are protected you can live to fight another day. Or you can throw a temper tantrum and insist that if you can’t get your way why not elect Hitler. And ignore the people warning you that electing a man who doesn’t believe in the basic preservation of minority rights is how fascism begins.
In the US, the majority is forbidden from taking away certain rights from the minority in order to keep their power undemocratically. That is what makes democracy work.
The bloc vote is so powerful, the Rabbis got competing calls from Bill Clinton and John Boehner during an election for a local House seat a few years back.
Also part of this story is Commissioner Elia, who made a deal with the East Ramapo school board approving millions in taxpayer funds to pay for buses for private religious school students to go to school on public school holidays.
Elia and two outside monitors were installed to oversee the activities of the school board, but in a legislative battle, the powers of the monitors were watered down by the IDC, with veto authority negotiated away. Since then, the monitors have been basically useless
Elia also heard the pleas from Jewish parents during ESSA hearings in Yonkers, Brooklyn and Queens who complained that yeshivas receiving tax dollars are denying basic academic instruction, a violation of the law.
I’m always fascinated by how similar are the diverse Jewish communities in Melbourne and NY. Unfortunately the issues that surround the ultra-orthodox communities and their schools has spread to here, as well:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-23/police-investigate-adass-jewish-community-on-abuse-principal/9071604
… “have” spread to here. Sorry, got my Friday brain on.
I went to Ramapo High School, and got a great education. I went into college with 28 credits, and graduated in three years–thanks to all the AP and dual credit programs at my high school. There is also a This American Life episode about it: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/534/a-not-so-simple-majority