I have been reading The Warwick Advertiser every week since I moved here in 1992. Writing to the editor is not something that I generally do, but I am outraged by the news reported in your article titled: “Federal stimulus funding for school districts announced.”
I am assuming (I hope properly) that the amounts for Florida and Chester were incorrectly listed, each having one more zero than they actually received.
This leads to my question that I can neither understand in principle and cannot further understand how it has not resulted in an investigation.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could explain to me and all of my fellow Orange County residents how Kiryas Joel received more funds than all of the other Orange County school districts listed combined.
Additional research (News 12 Westchester) found that Newburgh and Middletown received $30M and $17M respectively (neither listed in your article).
Am I to understand that Kiryas Joel has greater need than the poorest and most populous school districts in all of Orange County combined (and it may well be more than all of every district in Orange County combined or close to it) because this is what your article and the article in News 12 Westchester indicated.
It could be that this school district is very needy and deserving of this funding, but it is egregious that this has not at least prompted some sort of investigation to ensure the validity of need and been accompanied by some sort of reasonable explanation to taxpayers, other than a vague mention of a formula used based on poverty and student population — but no actual figures or data provided.
Matt Markowitz
Warwick
Editor’s note. The figures in the story are correct. The information came directly from of the office of the majority leader of the United States Senate, the senior senator from New York, Chuck Schumer.