East Ramapo board hears student complaints about conditions as auditors flag rising fund balance; board moving toward forensic audit

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — At a March 4 meeting of the East Ramapo Central School District Board of Education, students and residents pressed the board for improvements to school conditions and staffing while the district’s external auditor outlined why the district’s fund balance had grown in recent years. Board officials said they will solicit a forensic audit and continue budget hearings this month.

Public commenters, including multiple high‑school students, described classroom and building problems and asked the board to prioritize funding for teachers, English language supports and basic school supplies. “We are told to be patient about the process, but we have been patient enough,” one commenter told the board, describing cold classrooms, incomplete nurse’s offices and an estimated “over 80 vacant teaching positions” in the district.

The nut graf: The meeting combined the district’s academic presentation and a detailed fiscal review. Assistant superintendents presented student data and a $16.5 million instructional plan for next year aimed at literacy, multilingual supports and middle‑school and high‑school redesign. Separately, Thomas Smith, the district’s external auditor, and finance staff walked the board through how unfilled positions, one‑time federal COVID‑era funds and large increases in state aid affected the reported fund balance — prompting trustees to add a forensic audit to the agenda to get a deeper review.

The students’ case and the district response

Several students from Spring Valley High School and others urged the board to use the budget to fill vacancies, expand AP and honors offerings, improve athletic and custodial resources, and create local SAT/ACT test sites. Angel Eduardo Rojas, identified in public remarks as a ninth‑grader at Spring Valley High School, told the board the track and soccer teams need new gear and that bathrooms are “unhygienic.” Natalie Lopez, a junior, urged earlier rollout of after‑school academic programs and in‑district test sites to ease access to college admissions exams.

Interim Superintendent Mr. DeCarlo (identified in the meeting as the district’s interim superintendent) said the administration will present department and operational budgets in upcoming public sessions and described a multi‑meeting process to set a final tax levy and budget number in April. He said his administration is working to align resources to student needs and to be transparent about tradeoffs during the budget process.

What auditors told the board

Thomas Smith, the external auditor appearing by videoconference, summarized three primary drivers he found for the fund‑balance changes: large numbers of unfilled positions (which reduce salary and benefits spending), the use of one‑time federal COVID‑era (ARPA and related) funds that were largely spent in 2023–24, and a sizable increase in New York State aid over the past five years that materially changed the district’s revenue mix.

Smith said the district recorded $63 million of expenditures last year that were fully reimbursed from federal COVID‑era funds, and that roughly $48 million of such federal funds remained available to spend. He warned the board that those federal dollars are time‑limited and that returning those recurring costs to the general fund in future years would reduce the fund balance quickly. “As those [positions] aren’t filled, we save a significant amount in both salaries and employee benefits,” Smith said during his overview.

Smith gave the following figures during the meeting, attributing them to the audit and available financial statements: unrestricted general‑fund balances of about $4.4 million at June 30, 2022; roughly $18 million for 2023; and about $31.3 million for 2024. The larger total fund balance reported at June 30, 2024 — which includes restricted funds — was discussed in the meeting as approximately $72 million. Finance staff and board members referenced projections presented by district finance staff showing a possible additional surplus for the current year; the finance director indicated a projection of roughly $42 million this year and discussed how different additions could push the total fund balance projection toward the low‑hundreds of millions if those projections materialize.

Board and state oversight actions

Trustees discussed recent and ongoing oversight by external authorities. Trustee remarks and the superintendent’s office referenced a Jan. 7 letter from the New York State Office of the State Comptroller selecting East Ramapo for an examination focused on the adopted 2024–25 budget and prior operating results. Board members said the state comptroller’s office has begun work on that examination.

In response to public concern about missing detail and past reporting, the board voted to solicit bids for a forensic audit (agenda item referenced during the action‑item discussion). During the meeting the board also approved routine consent and action‑item bundles (see “Votes at a glance” below). Finance staff noted many of the year‑to‑year budget variances reflect reclassifications of where dollars are budgeted (for example, moving multilingual positions into different budget codes) and the timing effects of using federal categorical funds.

Academic presentation and targets

Assistant Superintendents presented enrollment and achievement data the administration says motivate its instructional investments. Highlights the district provided include a total enrollment growth from about 8,174 in 2014 to about 10,235 in 2025, a rise of about 25%. The proportion of English language learners (ELLs) has increased substantially; presenters said ELLs rose from roughly 27% of enrollment in 2014 to more than 60% in 2025. The district reported chronic absenteeism rates at the high‑school level of nearly 50% and overall graduation rates below the state average; the presentation identified four elementary/intermediate/middle schools as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools and Spring Valley High School as Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI).

As part of its academic plan the administration proposed a multi‑tiered system of supports, expanded literacy and language‑acquisition programs, added reading interventionists at identified schools, investments in principal leadership coaching and new instructional materials, and exploration of high‑school redesign options (including career and technical education expansion and broader access to rigorous courses). The administration said $16.5 million is set aside in the draft operating budget to support new instructional initiatives and staff.

Ending — next steps and meetings

Board members and staff said the district will continue budget hearings this month: department budgets will be presented March 14 and the operational budget on March 18 (the board noted the March 18 meeting will be held at Chestnut Ridge Middle School). The board placed a forensic audit on its procurement agenda and confirmed the state comptroller’s office is conducting a separate examination. Trustees encouraged public participation at the upcoming budget presentations and said final budget decisions will be before the board in April for adoption and then presented to voters in May.