The haredi-controlled scandal-ridden East Ramapo Central School District
will reportedly have a deficit of $8.2 million for this fiscal year.
Protesters and media at an meeting of the East Ramapo school board earlier this year
State Auditors: Haredi-Controlled Scandal-Ridden School District Has $8.2 Million Shortfall For This Year Alone
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The haredi-controlled scandal-ridden East Ramapo Central School District will reportedly have a deficit of $8.2 million for this fiscal year, the MidHudson News reported.
The district was audited by the state comptroller’s office, which looked at the 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscal years.
This year’s $8.2 million deficit is $800,000 more than the $7.4 million note that was issued to offset the deficit.
The deficit is close to the amount alleged by activists opposed to how the school board has functioned and far more than the haredi-controlled board originally claimed. Estimates of the current deficit eventually spiraled to $9 million earlier this year.
The board planned to use the proceeds from the sweetheart sale of school at a heavily discounted price to a haredi yeshiva to pay off the deficit, but the sale was delayed when an activist filed a suit the State’s Department of Education alleging the sale was improper.
The State Comptroller’s Office recommended that East Ramapo develop “reasonable revenue and expenditures estimates.” It also recommended that the district reduce its reliance on one-time revenues – generally generated by selling school buildings the district needs to haredi yeshivas at discounted prices – to finance the district’s operations.
Auditors also called on the scandal-plagued district to develop a plan to deal with an additional, unplanned budgetary shortfall for this fiscal year and said the district must monitor its revenues and expenditures and adjust them as needed to avoid falling into deficit.