NEW CITY – There was some concern last week when the state told Rockland County that it should conduct fire inspections of private schools that some would not allow the county officials in.
On Monday, County Executive Edwin Day said that yeshivas in Ramapo and Spring Valley have agreed to be inspected by the county fire inspectors. He said the county received word through the schools’ attorney that those that first refused to be inspected have “acquiesced to our demands.”
Inspections will begin on Wednesday. County officials were not allowed to conduct inspections in any of the 13 schools they visited on Monday.
Lawyers for the county where prepared to go to court to secure warrants to enter the premises when the attorney representing the group called the School Religious Freedom Coalition said the group had changed its mind.
“The real winners here are the children who will now be going to schools that are safe,” Day said.
The county will follow up on the results of the inspections to make sure any violations have been corrected.
The county was empowered by the state Education Department to conduct inspections at 49 schools, mostly yeshivas in Ramapo and Spring Valley, that either never filed required paperwork showing they had inspections or schools that were inspected by a Ramapo employee whose work was shown to be inaccurate.
