L-R: Golding, Hikind, Wieder
NEW CITY – On the day that Rockland County Legislature Democratic Majority Leader Aron Wieder resigned from that leadership post, local elected officials and supporters of the Orthodox Jewish community came to announce their dissatisfaction with East Ramapo School District Board Monitor Dennis Walcott’s recent report and actions toward the board.
Democratic State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D, 48), Rabbi Yosef Golding and Wieder spoke out against findings of both the Greenberg and Walcott reports, Walcott’s being the most recent.
A group of parents sued the East Ramapo Board last August for allegedly infusing funds into the Orthodox Jewish community while others have also protested the idea of having several members on the East Ramapo School Board who do not have children attending the district.
Although the Orthodox Jewish community tends to have their children attend parochial schools, Assemblyman Hikind maintained that the officials, who sit on that school board now, were legally elected and it is “un-American” to have a monitor with veto power on that board.
“And now, to be told, that we are going to take away the power of this board, this dually elected members of the board, they will not be in charge anymore, it is a betrayal of everything America stands for; it makes no sense, it’s not fair, it’s not what we’re all about,” said Hikind.
Assemblyman Hikind chastised Walcott, stating that he vouched for his character to the Orthodox Jewish community and now, feels that trust has been betrayed.
“We were on our way, Dennis, what happened? What’s the inside
scoop on this that we had someone like Dennis Walcott on the case, looking
at everything, making progress, real change was going to happen and it
was already happening. The members of the school board we’re working
with Dennis Walcott,” said Hikind. “By the way, there were
people in the Jewish community who were criticizing members of the school
board to trusting Dennis Walcott. I told them to trust him, there was
every reason to.”
Members of the Orthodox Jewish community said, after the news conference,
they believe this to be a financial issue. They claim that Albany is short-changing
the district, $30 million a year and that now, the Orthodox Jewish community
has been pitted against the rest of the residents.
