BREAKING: ERCSD Board Hit With Litigation on Eve of Vote Demanded by NYS DOE Commissioner

by M.C. Millman 

Three plaintiffs have issued a complaint against the East Ramapo Central School District Board on the eve of a board meeting, at which the 4.38% tax hike required by New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa, as reported by Rockland Daily here, is scheduled to be voted on. 

The three plaintiffs representing Parents Against Stealth Taxes (PAST), all residents of the ERCSD, include Village of Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Yisroel Eisenbach, Village of Pomona Deputy Mayor Mordechai Lasker, and  South East Ramapo Taxpayers Association President Kalman Weber.

"When I first heard about the chance to bring a lawsuit to prevent the 4.38% tax increase," Village of Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Yisroel Eisenbach, one of the three plaintiffs in the lawsuit, shares exclusively with Rockland Daily, "I didn't hesitate to take up the battle. I did it for two reasons. As an elected official, I know how important it is to save the taxpayers money, but more importantly, I know that the commissioner is violating our rights as voters by going against the democratic process, and this is not something I am just going to step back and allow if there is an option to prevent it from happening."

The mandatory vote by order of the commissioner tonight places the ERCSD between a rock and a hard place. If a board member does not vote as directed by the commissioner, the commissioner has the power to remove them from the board. On the other hand, increasing the tax levy after the voters refused to pass such a hike would violate the district's taxpayers' rights under applicable laws concerning the democratic school district budgetary process.  

"I remember learning in yeshiva about the origins of this country, including the Boston Tea Party and 'No taxation without representation,'" Harry Grossman, former ERCSD board president, tells Rockland Daily. "It is what makes the USA the greatest country in the world today. Now, in NYS, you have an unelected official attempting to impose a tax on the electorate. Perhaps, Commissioner Rosa would have been better served if she learned American history in a New York State yeshiva?"

The plaintiffs' hope the judge will issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the board from voting on the 4.38% increased school tax levy before there is time to legally contest the action. 

While the question remains whether a judge will issue a TRO before tonight's vote, there are other options besides trampling on the democratic process. In the meantime, the board has thirty days from the issuance of the Summons and Complaint to respond to the allegations.