SPRING VALLEY − The East Ramapo school district could find itself without a superintendent on July 1 after a plan to place an interim superintendent was pulled from the agenda just 20 minutes before the start time for the June 16 school board meeting.
Interim Superintendent Anthony DiCarlo, who has led the district this academic year, leaves June 30.
An agenda item prior to the meeting had set forth a plan to appoint Ana Reluzco, currently assistant superintendent for human resources, as interim superintendent starting July 1. According to a contract, she was to fill that position for the 2025-26 academic year unless the board found a superintendent before the end of the year.
But according to acting deputy clerk Karina Diaz, the item was pulled from the agenda around 7:10 p.m. June 16. Board meetings are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
A board member blamed the pulling of the item on state-appointed monitors. But the monitors said it was pulled because of board member concerns expressed with them that day.
How and why was superintendent item nixed at meeting?
More than an hour into the meeting, Trustee Sabrina Charles-Pierre acknowledged that the interim superintendent agenda item had been pulled.
She asked the state-appointed monitors, who must approve a superintendent choice by the board, why this happened so late and with the need for a new leader looming.
“Because of a concern expressed from individual board members,” monitor Shawn Farr said. He added the concerns had been expressed that evening.
When Charles-Pierre later asked who pulled the item, monitor Shelley Jallow said monitors removed it because not all board members were in attendance and there was concern about a “full vote.”
Three of the nine board member weren’t in attendance — missing were Simon Koth, Moses Koth and Ephraim Weissmandl. Six members were there, so board had a quorum. Attending were Board President Shimon Rose, Vice President Sherry McGill, Hiram Rivera, Sam Feder, Yitzchok Gruber and Charles-Pierre.
Jallow said the decision was made after a discussion with the board president and board counsel.
Jallow had at first included the vice president as being in on the discussion, but McGill said she wasn’t part of any discussion, and Jallow corrected herself.
Charles-Pierre asked, “Who shared a concern with you today about this item?”
“You did,” Farr said.
Charles-Pierre responded: “The item was pulled before I got here. I did not have a conversation with you or Dr. Jallow tonight prior to the meeting.”
Rose interjected that the board should go into executive session.
What’s next for East Ramapo school district?
Absent the board scheduling a special meeting, trustees are scheduled to meet again on July 1.
Rivera, who was elected in May and was attending his first board meeting, asked what would happen if the board failed to complete a superintendent appointment on July 1.
“If you don’t have a super by July 1, we have to consult with the commissioner,” Jallow said, “because you would be one of the first districts in the state not to have a superintendent by July 1.”
East Ramapo’s public school enrollment is around 10,500; another 35,000 children who live within East Ramapo boundaries and attend private schools, mostly yeshivas, receive busing and other key services from the district.
Charles-Pierre laid blame at the monitors’ feet, saying the board had tried to include monitors in the process so a superintendent decision could be reached.
“We have been left with no options to what the final decision would be,” she said.
Criticism of superintendent choice gets activist ejected
Reluzco’s erstwhile appointment had received criticism by members of the public, who have said they want someone with experience leading the district.
Others have expressed disappointment in having back-to-back interim superintendents leading a district that serves children of color, most of whom are English language learners, and has among the lowest standardized test scores in the state.
During the meeting’s public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, resident Terry Rodriguez in expressing her disappointment with the superintendent hiring process mentioned Reluzco by name.
She was cut off by Rose, who explained a public speaker cannot direct comments to or name an employee of the district.
School boards, in accordance with New York State School Boards Association guidance, generally do not allow comments about individual employees or students. Boards, though, can provide more space for public comment on agenda items.
“But it’s on the agenda,” Rodriguez said when told to cease.
No one corrected her.
The board took a recess and Rodriguez was told to leave by security, she said after the meeting.
Public comment was then continued by Rose.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: East Ramapo: Still no superintendent set to take over July 1 in troubled school district
Reporting by Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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