Giving State-Appointed Fiscal Monitor Veto Power Over School District’s Spending “Goes Against Democracy,” Haredi Leades Claim

If New York State appoints a fiscal monitor who could override decisions made by the scandal-plagued haredi-controlled East Ramapo School District’s board and supervisor, that would disenfranchise voters and be undemocratic, haredi and Orthodox leaders said.

 

Above: Hank Greenberg

Giving State-Appointed Fiscal Monitor Veto Power Over School District’s Spending “Goes Against Democracy,” Haredi Leades Claim
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

If New York State appoints a fiscal monitor who could override decisions made by the scandal-plagued haredi-controlled East Ramapo School District’s board and supervisor, that would disenfranchise voters and be undemocratic, haredi and Orthodox leaders said, the Journal News reported.

Hank Greenberg, a temporary fiscal monitor for the poorly managed district who was appointed several months ago by the governor but who lacks those powers, filed his official report earlier this week. That report found repeated instances when the haredi-controlled school board made decisions that benefitted private haredi schools while damaging the public schools the board is supposed to manage and represent. It was Greenberg who called for the additional oversight for the district and the veto power.

Undeterred by those findings, haredim lashed out at Greenberg.

"The United States is a democratic country which is ruled by law. So taking away the rights of the people goes against democracy,” Kalman Weber, a haredi leader who heads the South East Ramapo Taxpayers Association, a fiscally conservative haredi group, said.

The United States is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, which under law tempers majority rule to protect minority rights – like, for example, the rights of non-haredi school children in a largely haredi school district.

Just as whites cannot discriminate against blacks because whites hold the majority, haredim cannot discriminate against non-haredim when haredim hold the majority, and they cannot loot the public school system and mismanage it in order to favor private haredi schools. But this what the haredi-controlled school board and its backers in the haredi community allegedly did.

Ryan Karben, a disgraced Orthodox former New York State Assemblyman and Rockland County legislator also attacked Greenberg’s report on the same grounds Weber used – despite the fact that they make no sense legally or historically.

"It is deeply disturbing to consider letting an unelected bureaucrat set aside the results of a budget vote or a school board election because Albany doesn't like the outcome,” Karben reportedly said.

Yossi Gestetner, a haredi public relations figure linked to campaigns to attack opponents of haredi leaders and to campaigns to raise money for accused haredi criminals, including at least one child molester, also attacked Greenberg.

Would Greenberg’s proposed fiscal monitor overrule spending cuts made by the haredi-controlled board that would force higher taxes, "deny Hasidic special-needs kids access to an environment of their liking when the costs are the same, or block the district from defending itself against lawsuits and reviews?” Gestetner told the Journal News.

East Ramapo has almost 9,000 public school students. Many of them are black or Hispanic. Most are poor.

The district has another 24,000 private school students – almost all of whom are haredi.

Some haredim object to paying anything to support the public schools while many others want taxes reduced to a level that essentially would destroy the district’s public schools, claiming that the public schools can survive on even less money than they now receive – money even Greenberg says is woefully insufficient.

Related Posts:

How Haredim Looted East Ramapo.

How Haredi Gutted East Ramapo Schools.

Fiscal Monitor Asks For Power To Veto Decisions Made By Scandal-Plagued Haredi-Controlled School Boar And District.

Greenberg's Report.

All East Ramapo Scandal Posts.

Comments

[PearlOfWisdom]

So, hear that sound of money whooshing out of ERCSD ciffers as we read this. They have challenged the AG. They have sued the State, Appealed those lost cases. The laws already exist on the books. Time to throw the bums out. Get it done!

[yehudis]

Kalman Weber owns a lot of property in the county. The Rockland County clerk website supports that. He is against every school budget that is put up for a vote. He has been asked by the Journal News to tell who is in his Southeast taxpayers group but he never does. Ryan Karben represents the builders when they go before the planning board. If they don't have enough footage in the front of the house, the back of the house and the sides of the house Ryan gets the Board to vote for the house to be built regardless of the zoning. It is in their best interest to keep the Board intact. When these men run for the school board they don't give out any personal information. We don't know their level of education, they never tell about their families, everything is kept in the dark. The school district needs college educated men and women on the Board.

[Devorah]

On Facebook, join "Save Our Schools East Ramapo." They just did some major research on Kalman and discovered he donated to one of the board member's campaign and paid directly for the campaign literature which was in YIDDISH which is illegal. They're digging up all kinds of stuff on him. Another fraudster with his "non profit."

[PearlOfWisdom]

Aron Wieder does not have a HS diploma. Nathan Rothschild only finished 11th grade. I am sure that many of the others don't have degrees either. Yonah Rothman and Harry Grossman probably do have college degrees. I used to like Grossman, but he too has turned to the dark side. Friedman, no longer on the board didn't understand much ENGLISH language vocabulary, but was an amazing wiz with Math...,when he could manage to stay awake. Yehuda used to be pretty chilled, but now people despise him.

Either way, the outcome is the same....screw the public school kids.

[noname]

How in the world can they know what "goes against democracy" without having ever studied what a democracy is?

[Barry]

Rabbi Schach described democracy as a cancer.

[yehudis]

Pearl-I wonder how far Weissmandl, the Board President went in school. I went to a few Board meetings and saw how Weider used to run out of the boardroom and get right on his blackberry and start speaking Yiddish. He was a puppet, probably still is. I am waiting to hear Weissmandl's take on Greenberg's report which will come out as soon as D'Agostino is through writing it. D'Agostino will then charge the taxpayers for writing it. Another day in East Ramapo...

[Sarek]

So the people who want a theocracy complain that their democratic rights are being taken away?

[flatearth]

If you had to pick just one; who is slimier -
Karben or Gestetner?

[PearlOfWisdom]

Flatearth, I don't know who is slimmier, but Karben is really smart. He used to try to appear middle ground, now he is a flack, just like Yossi. Karben is more dangerous because he still has some credibility....though it is diminishing every day with his ludicris public statements.