Reply To: School Board Monitors in Lakewood & East Ramapo

As long as there is no school monitor with veto power over the board, the board can cut public school services to balance the budget, and if there is a deficit the district must come up with the money i.e. tax increase. If like in Lakewood where they have a school monitor who overrides the board any deficit is caused by the STATE’s employee and the state should be liable.

In Lakewood the monitors have antagonized everyone, the Orthodox Jews by vetoing the board and cutting busing, the Taxpayers by asking for an additional $6.2 million referendum on top of a 7% increase at the beginning of the year, Public school parents for threating to cut courtesy busing for their children.

If the state bails out the district, I don’t see the district ever wanting to be run by the board. Let the monitor make the decisions and let the state foot the bill . This way their taxes don’t go up.

Even if the senate goes democratic I don’t think they will pass a school monitor bill. They just have to look at Lakewood to see how good it’s working.