A Rockland State lawmaker is urging the governor to call the legislature back into session to deal with the crisis surrounding the East Ramapo Central School District and its funding situation. The State Education Department recently sent in a new fiscal monitor and implemented a budget that raises taxes 5.38 percent, a proposal already rejected by district voters. Senator Bill Weber of the 38th District asked Governor Kathy Hochul to call the legislature back to session to vote on his bill, which would provide a one-time $20 million funding infusion that the school district desperately needs…
Weber’s bill is backed in the lower house by Assemblyman Karl Brabenec of the 98th district, covering the East Ramapo school district. Brabenec told WRCR last week that the flawed Foundation Aid formula the state uses has shortchanged the district $400 million over the last twenty years, but that’s just the beginning…
In his letter to Governor Hochul, Weber said New York State Commissioner of Education, Dr. Betty Rosa, should not have implemented the tax increase, a move he suggested is destined to provoke further litigation, and could lead to strife and distrust between the district and the state government, which he said was the last thing anyone needs at his point.