East Ramapo school district 'fails kids by every measure' according to NYCLU annual report
Civil liberties group cites low graduation rates, racial disparities, and long‑standing fiscal issues
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The New York Civil Liberties Union has issued its fifth annual report card, giving the East Ramapo Central School District in Rockland County a failing grade and calling attention to what it describes as years of unmet student needs.
According to the report, “The East Ramapo School District fails kids by every measure.”
Johanna Miller of the NYCLU said the data shows a persistent pattern of inadequate support for students.
“The adults in East Ramapo are failing the kids. The kids are not failures. They are just not getting the service that they need and the data just reflects that year after year,” she said.
The report highlights the racial divide between public and private school students, as well as concerns about dropout rates, academic performance and overall student outcomes. One key finding shows that the district’s 2025 graduation rate was 10 percentage points below the state average. Spring Valley High School, one of the district’s two high schools, performed even lower.
Miller said the numbers demand attention.
“We think it's important to really pull those numbers out and really understand what's going into them because the data is so dismal and so heartbreaking," she said.
Oscar Cohen, education co-chair for the Spring Valley NAACP, said the findings come as no surprise.
“We're not surprised, but we are outraged,” he said, adding that the district’s long-standing issues require stronger fiscal oversight," Cohen said. "Things have not gotten better. And you can say they're worse because they haven't gotten better.”
In response to the report, East Ramapo Interim Superintendent Ana Reluzco issued a written statement. She said the administration is working closely with state monitors on the Long-Term Strategic Academic and Fiscal Improvement Plan.
“This plan, however, will not solve the problem of a decade of budgeting that included insufficient tax levy increases," Reluzco said.
She added that while several initiatives have been implemented this year, the plan does not address the district’s future capital improvement needs or the contractual restrictions affecting the instructional day.
In response to the report, JP O’Hare, spokesperson for the New York State Education Department, told News 12:
“Unfortunately, the NYCLU’s report card for the East Ramapo School District reflects the direct result of a deeply troubling pattern of an elected board that has repeatedly put its own interests ahead of the public school students it is responsible for serving. The Department has a legal obligation to ensure every student in East Ramapo receives a high-quality education in a stable, effective and accountable system.
The state-appointed monitors are working with the district every day to bring operational stability, strengthen academic outcomes and restore public confidence. But success will be elusive until the board does more to work collaboratively with the public school community, staff and the monitors, and embraces the changes necessary for long-term financial and academic improvement.”
