East Ramapo schools ponder deeper staff cuts as parents, students voice concern

East Ramapo schools parents and students took to the microphone Tuesday to express their disappointment at program cuts approved in recent weeks as board members pondered slashing still more staff.

Already chopped: Sports, music and art -- and dozens of staff positions as the East Ramapo School attempts to balance a budget in a district that's been operating with a deficit for two school years. The board has cut staff and programs to the extent that high school students fear they can't take enough courses to graduate in four years, they say.

On Tuesday, the board discussed a $209 million spending plan that appears to cut almost 100 positions, if a hoped-for lottery advance does not come through. Interim assistant superintendent for business Anthony Cashara said the district is going to move forward with all cuts and restore programs if lottery money comes through. He would not offer a firm number of positions being cut, saying he could provide the information later.

"We're going to proceed with the cuts," Cashara said. "It's always better to have good news."

On April 23, the board members adopted a proposed budget that cut the equivalent of about 60 positions, including all elementary school arts and music teachers and librarians. At that time, the board discussed an additional 28 job cuts, which Cashara said Tuesday would go through as well. Officials also presented another list of cuts Tuesday that represented about another 11 jobs, according to Cashara.

While in past meetings, hundreds of parents and students swarmed meetings to protest cuts, only about 40 people turned out Tuesday to hear about a budget that's already basically a done deal.

Pheadra Gaston, a 13-year-old Chestnut Ridge Middle School student, was one of only a few who spoke, prompted by her disappointment in cuts to sports programs.

"When I get to high school, which is in two years, they won't have nothing," Gaston said.

Gaston's mother also made an impassioned statement reflective of the tensions in the community between black and Latino residents and the Orthodox Jewish community. Antoise Gaston said that the Orthodox Jewish board members do not represent her kids or the other the black and Latino students or parents.

"You keep cutting and cutting and cutting," Antoise Gaston said. "What are we worth? Nothing?"

Former school board member Steve Price, who resigned in protest in January, raised concerns about the district's revenue and expense projections.

"These are one-time revenues," Price said. "We're just going to be back having the same discussion next year."

Still uncertain is how the board will deal with a hoped-for $3.5 million included in the districts revenues, an advance in payments from the state lottery funds that requires special legislation. Sen. David Carlucci Tuesday introduced a bill to advance the money. No legislation has been introduced in the state assembly.

Carlucci said last month he was disappointed that the school board included the money in the budget, when the legislator himself was uncertain if the money would be approved.

"We are cognizant of the chance it will not pass, so we've put together a list," Cashara said. "We 've tried to make the cuts are far away from program as possible."