New York State Legislature To Vote On Adding Panel Oversight Of Hempstead Schools
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — The New York state Senate passed unprecedented legislation Wednesday calling for intervention to help the struggling Hempstead School District, and now the Assembly will weigh in on the bill.
The proposed bill stops short of a state take-over after dysfunction and alleged corruption that CBS2 has reported on for years.
There was no floor debate as state senators voted to bring in the new monitoring in Hempstead, reports CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff.
New York State Regent Roger Tilles has watched decades of failure in the Hempstead School District and has pushed for an immediate three-member oversight panel with veto power over superintendent selection and expenditures.
Incensed elected school board members were fighting for their independence in Albany on Wednesday, after a pep rally-style gathering Tuesday claiming graduation numbers are up from 37 percent two years ago to 60 percent this year, suggesting the bills in the state capital insult rather than help Hempstead students.
Critics say the monitors are needed to verify academic data after years of grades being fudged, as well as monitoring a $215 million budget too often wasted on infighting.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not yet said if he will find the money for this panel and turn the bills into law.