{"id":329,"date":"2011-08-23T14:40:11","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T14:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/?p=329"},"modified":"2011-08-23T14:40:11","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T14:40:11","slug":"sectarian-war-in-east-ramapo-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/2011\/08\/sectarian-war-in-east-ramapo-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Sectarian War in East Ramapo Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Aron Wieder, the Vice President of the board, keeps a Twitter account. His tweets vary from the cultural (\u201cThis purim\u2014a springtime Jewish festival\u2014it was unusually quiet on the streets of Monsey\u201d) to the secular (\u201cI read to the kids a Curious George book\u201d). Photo: Aron Wieder.<\/p><\/div>\n

BY SARIKA BANSAL<\/p>\n

Steve Forman, one of Ramapo High School\u2019s assistant principals, was stunned to find on a recent morning that his town\u2019s sectarian feud had spilled into his school. On the blackboard in an empty classroom, someone had scribbled: \u201cIT\u2019S THE JEWS\u2019 FAULT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forman immediately knew the anonymous student was not referring to the latest conflict in the Middle East.\u00a0 The anti-Semitic jab was much less global.\u00a0 In all likelihood, the student was referring to the Jewish members of the local public school board, who have drawn fire over the dilapidated state of the school district.<\/p>\n

The East Ramapo school district is deeply divided.\u00a0 Located twenty-five miles northwest of Manhattan, the suburb consists of a sizable ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, now the single largest ethnic group in town, and a mix of immigrant groups, including communities from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n

Though Ramapo High School boasts a colorful mural with the phrase, \u201cUnity in diversity,\u201d the community has largely ignored this mantra.\u00a0 Over the years, festering tensions between the Orthodox and the non-Orthodox populations have led to disputes over real estate, traffic safety, and most contentiously, education.\u00a0 Non-Orthodox residents complain that the Orthodox community has used its political muscle to lower taxes and gut the public education system, while Orthodox residents contend that the district must be more responsive to the needs of the changing population.<\/p>\n

These disputes mirror those in many other towns with bourgeoning Orthodox populations, such as in Long Island<\/a> and in Brooklyn<\/a>.\u00a0 East Ramapo\u2019s tensions may be mounting to unprecedented levels, though, with the US Department of Education recently having begun an investigation<\/a> to see whether the school board has engaged in discriminatory practices against public school students.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the community-wide dispute has the largest impact on the 8,200 students who attend the public schools, over half of whom are eligible for free and reduced lunch (a proxy for low-income status).\u00a0 The dispute also directly impacts the 17,000 children in East Ramapo who attend private schools, the vast majority of which are yeshivas<\/em>, or traditional Jewish schools.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Long-time East Ramapo residents often talk about the \u201cgolden age\u201d of the school district. \u00a0\u201cWhen I attended Ramapo [High School], it was a totally different place,\u201d a middle-aged woman whispered to me during a school board meeting.\u00a0 \u201cThings have really gone downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the context of East Ramapo, the phrase \u201cgone downhill\u201d has several specific connotations. I grew up in the area and attended East Ramapo\u2019s public schools, so I am familiar with several of them.<\/p>\n

Among residents of Rockland County, which embraces East Ramapo, \u201cgone downhill\u201d most often implies the changing ethnic and socioeconomic makeup of the district. \u00a0In 1989, 38 percent of Ramapo High School\u2019s students were non-white; by 2009, this figure had jumped to 93 percent, due both to the influx of sizable immigrant populations and to \u201cwhite flight,\u201d defined in this case as hundreds of East Ramapo\u2019s white families either moving or sending their children to other schools.\u00a0 \u201cAfter white flight we began seeing black flight,\u201d said Forman, an assistant principal at Ramapo High School.\u00a0 \u201cMiddle-class black families started to leave our district too.\u00a0 Who are we left with?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGone downhill\u201d also often refers to the perceived quality of education in East Ramapo.\u00a0 SchoolDigger<\/a>, a national school-rating website, currently ranks Ramapo High School 824th<\/sup> out of New York\u2019s 1113 public high schools. \u00a0Less than 75 percent of students graduate, and of those that do, only 40 percent continue to four-year institutions.\u00a0 Most publicity<\/a> the district receives today centers around fights, arrests, and gangs. \u00a0This is a starkly different picture from twenty years ago, when East Ramapo was, according to my mother, a long-time resident, \u201cconsidered one of the best school districts around, with some of the best teachers. \u00a0That\u2019s not the case anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

More recently, \u201cgone downhill\u201d sometimes tacitly refers to the composition of the East Ramapo school board.\u00a0 The nine-person elected board has enormous influence on the school district: each member has a say in which lawyer the district should hire, which extracurricular programs to fund, and which union contracts to uphold.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The East Ramapo Central School District board in 2009. Five of nine members are Hasidic Jewish and send their children to private yeshivas. Photo credit: Vos iz Neias<\/p><\/div>\n

Historically, the board consisted of ardent parents of East Ramapo students.\u00a0 Over time, however, the town began electing several equally ardent \u201cprivate school parents\u201d\u2014a local euphemism for Orthodox residents\u2014to the board.\u00a0 Members of the grassroots group East Ramapo Stakeholders for Public Education<\/a>, among others, have credited the elections to a supposed Jewish bloc vote combined with general voter apathy.\u00a0 They have also complained that many of today\u2019s East Ramapo parents are not US citizens and thus have no say in local elections.<\/p>\n

As of April 2011, there were five Orthodox or Hasidic Jewish men serving on the nine-member public school board.\u00a0 All of them send their children to private schools.\u00a0 These board members included Nathan Rothschild, who served as President of the school board from 1998 until his sudden resignation on April 14.\u00a0 The following day, he appeared in a US District Court on unrelated felony charges (he is accused of engaging in mail fraud<\/a> while serving as fire commissioner in Monsey, one of East Ramapo\u2019s more Orthodox neighborhoods).<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

The majority of Orthodox Jews in East Ramapo identify as Hasidic, meaning they follow the teachings of 18th<\/sup> century Rabbi Baal Shem Tov. \u00a0Hasidim, a subset of Orthodox Judaism, is often considered \u201cultra-Orthodox\u201d due to its strict creed and emphasis on tradition.\u00a0 Children must attend religious yeshivas<\/em>, where they study traditional Jewish texts; women must dress conservatively, covering their knees, elbows, and after marriage, heads; and men must wear payot<\/em>, or sidecurls, starting at age three.\u00a0 Many Hasidim today live in self-segregated communities.<\/p>\n

The Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish members of the East Ramapo school board are no exception. Most of them live in or near Monsey, which is reputed to be one of the most densely populated Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods in the United States.\u00a0 As of 2000, it had at least one synagogue for every 150 residents.<\/p>\n

Three miles north, the Village of New Square is East Ramapo\u2019s most homogenously Hasidic neighborhood: according to the Modern Language Association, over 90 percent of the area\u2019s estimated 8,000 residents speak either Yiddish or Hebrew at home.\u00a0 Rockland Magazine<\/a> in 2007 called it \u201ca densely packed haven where Hasidic residents live largely by their own customs and laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is difficult to determine the exact size of the Orthodox community, since the census does not record religious affiliation. \u00a0Growing up in the area, however, I witnessed East Ramapo\u2019s transformation as the Jewish community grew to be the town\u2019s largest ethnic group.\u00a0 The local supermarket, Grand Union, morphed into Wesley Kosher when I was in fifth grade.\u00a0 Two years later, empty plots down my street began to be developed into single-family homes.\u00a0 When my sister and I snuck around the half-completed construction sites, we were surprised to find that they all had two kitchens\u2014one for meat and the other for dairy, in accordance with kosher food rules.\u00a0 By the time I got my driver\u2019s license, my parents warned me to drive extra carefully on Friday evenings, since Hasidim walking back from synagogue sometimes forget to wear reflectors over their long black coats.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Among East Ramapo\u2019s Hasidic school board members, Aron Wieder is the most vocal, the self-proclaimed \u201clightning rod\u201d of the group.\u00a0 He is also the most visibly connected to East Ramapo\u2019s secular community, largely due to his day job as administrative assistant to Noramie Jasmin, the Haitian-American mayor of the nearby village of Spring Valley.<\/p>\n

Wieder has drawn polarized opinions from East Ramapo residents.\u00a0 His supporters\u2014mostly (though not exclusively) members of his community\u2014applaud his sharp mind and charisma, while his critics, including Steve White of the East Ramapo Stakeholders, denounce him as a baby-kissing politician bent on lowering property taxes at the expense of public education in East Ramapo.<\/p>\n

White lost to Wieder in the 2008 school board election by 300 votes, but says his animus isn\u2019t personal. \u00a0\u201cI think he is not an honest person,\u201d White said. \u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s a politician who\u2019s got a handler somewhere.\u201d \u00a0White also said the Hasidic community, many of them landlords in East Ramapo, has no interest in maintaining the public education system being used primarily by their tenants, or the \u201cimmigrant worker class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wieder avoids calling his critics anti-Semitic, but acknowledges the role of prejudice in shaping opinion.\u00a0 \u201cThey say that I\u2019m a private school parent, and that I have no right to be on the board,\u201d Wieder said to me in his windowless office in the Spring Valley Village Hall.\u00a0 \u201cMany are very accusatory.\u00a0 The truth is that I\u2019m a very strong believer in public education.\u201d<\/p>\n

To back his claim, Wieder recounted a story he said he shares with many East Ramapo parents.\u00a0 \u201cAbout three-o-clock in the morning, my wife ended up in the emergency room, giving birth to my youngest child.\u00a0 She had a very good experience, thanks to a wonderful nurse.\u00a0 Very professional.\u00a0 I got to have a conversation with that nurse, and it turns out that she was educated in East Ramapo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are my co-workers?\u00a0 Not people from my community.\u00a0 I interact with a bank teller, who happens to be a graduate of East Ramapo\u2026.\u00a0 Regardless of where I send my kids to school, I have a vested interest in public education.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I feel privileged to be on the board, to perhaps make a difference in the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

White, meanwhile, claims the biggest difference Wieder has made is to successfully reallocate resources from the district to the Orthodox community.\u00a0 \u201cWhen Wieder was elected, he had a single-minded focus on changing special education,\u201d said White, who is half-Jewish.\u00a0 White described how Wieder worked tirelessly to find loopholes that would allow the school district to fund yeshiva tuition for Orthodox children with special needs\u2014even when adequate special education services existed within the district.<\/p>\n

Many of White\u2019s frustrations stemmed from a controversial 2009 board decision\u2014taken at 1am\u2014to replace the district\u2019s long-standing lawyer with a costly Long Island attorney, Albert D\u2019Agostino.\u00a0 According to New York Times coverage<\/a> of the incident, D\u2019Agostino, who had represented Orthodox-controlled school boards in the past, had been \u201centerprising in finding lawful ways to provide special education services at shared expense to private school students.\u201d\u00a0 At the time, he was also under investigation by New York\u2019s attorney general.<\/p>\n

Wieder defended his actions.\u00a0 He said the district was treating these parents poorly, and that he was helping East Ramapo taxpayers get the services to which they were entitled by law.\u00a0 He also said the previous lawyer was \u201cineffective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wieder speaks with his hands, and as he gets deeper into an argument, his Brooklyn accent becomes more noticeable and his payot<\/em> begin swaying gently. Like an experienced politician, Wieder\u2019s gaze remained fixed on my face throughout the interview, and unlike most conservative Hasidim who avoid physical contact with the opposite sex, he shook my hand warmly when we parted.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

At school board meetings, Wieder\u2019s body language is remarkably consistent.\u00a0 During a community session in March 2011, in which various residents spoke against impending budget cuts, Wieder listened attentively to all.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic education has been proven to improve test scores.\u00a0 We can\u2019t take that away from our children,\u201d begged a red-faced mother between tears.\u00a0 \u201cLet our children come to clean buildings they can be proud of,\u201d pleaded a custodial staff member, in response to threats to cut staff. A retired teacher, in the face of possible cuts in security, said, \u201cEveryone heard about how four Ramapo students were arrested yesterday [for fighting].\u00a0 East Ramapo\u2019s children need to come to safe schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout these impassioned speeches, Wieder leaned his body forward and furrowed his brow.\u00a0 He made direct eye contact with speakers whenever possible.\u00a0 He was listening.<\/p>\n

Wieder listened with equal interest to Kalmen Weber, the Hasidic president of the Southeast Ramapo Taxpayers Association.\u00a0 Unlike previous speakers, Weber fervently defended the impending budget cuts.\u00a0 He repeatedly told the board how East Ramapo was facing \u201ctimes of sacrifice,\u201d and how during such times, the public schools should feel the pinch as much as the taxpayer.\u00a0 Parents in the audience began booing during Weber\u2019s speech, but Weber and Wieder ignored the interjections.<\/p>\n

Immediately after the session, Wieder approached several speakers individually and thanked them for their comments.\u00a0 \u201cI understand your concern with the school district\u2019s attorney fees,\u201d he told a PTA member who had complained that the budget was being allocated poorly.\u00a0 \u201cMany parents have raised similar concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it was finally his turn to address the group, however, Wieder took a hard line, endorsing the proposed budget cuts.\u00a0 Taxes are high, he said apologetically, and most of the proposed cuts would not directly affect student graduation rates.\u00a0 \u201cWe must be cost effective,\u201d he told audience members, many of whom were shaking their heads and whispering angrily to each other.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Tensions in East Ramapo have been mounting even higher lately with changes in leadership.\u00a0 The board recently demoted the district\u2019s superintendent, Dr. Ira Oustacher, to interim director of special student services, for reasons unclear.\u00a0 In a public statement<\/a>, Rothschild just said, \u201cI think the board wanted to see a little different direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, on April 14, Rothschild resigned from his position as president of the school board, the day before he appeared in US District Court.\u00a0 He has been accused of settling a personal debt by selling land owned by the Monsey Fire Department to his unnamed creditor, at below market rate.<\/p>\n

Four days later, Aron Wieder announced that he would not seek re-election for the board\u2014despite his tweet<\/a> on April 3 that stated, \u201cTomorrow I\u2019ll be announcing my re-election bid as an East Ramapo Trustee. It will be a low key announcement via email to supporters :).\u201d<\/p>\n

Speculations abound.\u00a0 Some, including activist Peter Obe, wonder whether Wieder wants to maintain a low profile during Rothschild\u2019s investigation for fear of being implicated.\u00a0 Others, such as activist Joe Dais, believe it was a deliberate tactic to lay groundwork for a new slate of Orthodox school board candidates. \u201cThey\u2019re always four, five moves ahead of the rest of us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the last month, the school district has attracted federal scrutiny.\u00a0 The Spring Valley chapter of the NAACP announced that the US Department of Education is investigating whether East Ramapo has been mismanaging resources and shortchanging minority students in the process.\u00a0 The content and scope of their investigation is confidential, but many residents<\/a> hope federal officials will play a constructive role in the ongoing debate.<\/p>\n

Across the district, people appear frustrated with recent events.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no transparency anymore,\u201d complained a Spanish teacher in the teacher\u2019s lounge at Ramapo High School.\u00a0 \u201cAll I know is there are some funny politics going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things should begin to change on May 17, the date of the school board election.\u00a0 Four of the nine seats are up for grabs.\u00a0 The East Ramapo Stakeholders are officially promoting<\/a> four public school parents.\u00a0 Running against them are four Orthodox candidates, including two who are vying for Rothschild\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

Despite there being 49,000 registered voters in East Ramapo, if historic voter trends continue, the winners will be decided by a few hundred votes.