Lawsuit Alleging East Ramapo School Board Bias In Funding Dismissed

RAMAPO, N.Y. -- A class action lawsuit accusing the East Ramapo school board of spending more on private school students than those who attend the district's public schools has been dismissed by a federal appeals court panel, according to lohud.com.

A federal court has dismissed a suit filed by parents and students who attend Ramapo's public schools that the district spends more money on the area's private Jewish schools.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

K Reakes

09/30/2016 12:30 p.m.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled the lawsuit had no merit and the plaintiffs lacked any legal standing, said lohud.com.

The lawsuit, filed in 2012 by parents and East Ramapo public school students, is the result of a long-running battle over how the district's money is spent between the area's private schools and the public schools. The majority of the district's students -- about 30,000 -- attend private yeshivas for Jewish students, with about 9,000 students attending one of the district's 14 public schools, added lohud.com.

Among the lawsuit claims includes the district is misdirecting money from public schools to private schools; that they are promoting the Hasidic Jewish faith; providing special treatment to Hasidic schools; purchasing religious books with public money, among other claims, reported lohud.com.

Laura Barbieri, with Advocates for Justice who represents the plaintiffs, said the organization has filed a request to have the entire 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals hear the case. A spokesman for the school board declined to comment, said lohud.com.

Click here to read the lohud.com article.

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