Elia appoints monitor in East Ramapo |
On Board Online • August 31, 2015
By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer
Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has named former New York City schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott as state monitor to oversee operations in the East Ramapo school district.
Walcott's appointment was necessary "to ensure that the educational rights of the district's students are protected," Elia said in a news release, adding "there is clear evidence that for many years, the district has not adequately served the needs of its public school students."
Assisting Walcott will be John Sipple, director of the New York State Center for Rural Schools and associate professor at Cornell University with expertise in public school finance and policy, and educational leadership consultant Monica George-Fields, a former school principal in New York City and senior fellow for school innovation with the Regents Research Fund.
Walcott, Sipple and George-Fields will work under contract with the State Education Department. A spokeswoman for the department declined to disclose their compensation or other terms of their contracts, however, saying the details would not be revealed until the agreements are approved by the State Comptroller's Office. A spokesman for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Aug. 24 that the contracts had not yet been submitted for review.
The appointments follow a critical assessment last November from another state monitor, former federal prosecutor Hank Greenberg. He examined conditions in East Ramapo at the request of then-State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. and the Regents and recommended installation of a state fiscal monitor with power to override decisions of the school board and superintendent.
Legislation that would have enabled the appointment of a monitor with the strong intervention authority recommended by Greenberg stalled in the state Legislature in the spring. Elia thanked lawmakers who sponsored the legislation and said she looks forward to continuing to work with them in the 2016 session "to better ensure that this district can become one where all parents are proud to send their children."
Elia said Walcott, 63, will have regular, collaborative contact with East Ramapo district leaders. And, given his extensive experience in management and governance of the New York City school system, Elia said, Walcott will be in a position to provide ongoing feedback and to recommend realistic, specific strategies for improvement.
In a statement provided by the State Education Department in the announcement of Walcott's appointment, East Ramapo Board President Yehuda Weissmandl said the board was committed to working with Walcott and his team.
"The board and I are eager to begin our work with Mr. Walcott and the monitoring team to identify and implement improvements in the district's educational programs and services," Weissmandl's statement said.
In December, Walcott and his team are to deliver a formal report to the commissioner and the Regents outlining their actions and findings, as well as corrective actions or improvements taken by the district at their recommendation.
Walcott attended his first public meeting in East Ramapo on Aug. 18, just five days after his appointment, wearing headphones to hear English translations of comments from Spanish-speakers.
"There is a lot of passion coming from people who want to get a solid education for their children," he told the Journal News and LoHud.com. "That's natural."
The newspaper reported that many parents spoke of a need to bring back art and music classes for students.
Walcott has pledged to begin meeting students, staff, parents and other stakeholders immediately.
"This effort will be both cooperative and collaborative," Walcott said. "We will work directly with the East Ramapo school board, but we will not shy away from keeping the district accountable to the community when we identify areas of improvement."
In his report to King and the Regents, Greenberg said the school board, which is dominated by Orthodox Jewish members, had favored the interests of private school students, most of whom attend yeshivas, over those of public school students, who are predominantly black and Hispanic. Local leaders have attributed the districts problems primarily to insufficient state funding and other financial constraints.
About three quarters of East Ramapo's roughly 32,000 students attend private schools. Greenberg found that high spending on transportation, special education and other services for the non-public students had contributed to steep cuts in programs, services and staff for the 8,000-plus students in the public schools.
"The hardship these students have endured is reprehensible," Regent Judith Johnson said in the department's written statement. "Students in East Ramapo cannot afford to wait any longer for appropriate educational programs. Appointing Mr. Walcott and his team is a first step to repairing a damaged relationship with the community."