Legislator Wieder Calls For School Formula Change

Rockland County Legislator and Majority Leader Aron B. Wieder (Spring Valley - District 13) participated in a daylong lobbying effort in Albany on Wednesday as part of a coalition of community leaders across the state coordinated by Agudath Israel of America.

Legislator Wieder, along with community leaders and activists, met with state legislators of both parties, as well as with the leadership of both the State Assembly and Senate. The group also met with staff members from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office. The group lobbied on several major issues, including the issue of changing the state education formula for East Ramapo.

“We held several successful meetings with state legislators and their leadership, as well as with the governor’s staff,” said Legislator Wieder. “We made great progress in advancing several key causes, including formula change - an issue that is important to my district and on the minds of Rockland County residents.”

The current formula places a great strain on the East Ramapo School District in particular, because it assumes incorrectly that East Ramapo is one of the wealthiest school districts in the region. This distinction sets East Ramapo apart from other school districts in the state, and Legislator Wieder has been a strong advocate of changing the formula for funding for East Ramapo.

To that end, Legislator Wieder has sent a letter to Governor Cuomo, the Education Commissioner, and other state officials and representatives, highlighting the need for formula change as a means to solve the district’s challenges.

“A targeted formula change that would go towards the programs that were eliminated in the last couple of years is needed to remedy the inequities the East Ramapo students have endured,” Legislator Wieder’s letter states, referring to the district’s public school programs, which have suffered in recent years. “When over three quarters of a student body come from homes below a certain poverty level requiring food assistance, deeming this a wealthy district based on property values is not realistic. In actuality, it has resulted in catastrophic cuts to programs at an alarming rate.”