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August 5, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 32 | www.eastchesterreview.com

Opt-out proposal could punish school districts By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer

The First Lady? Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, July 28, becoming the first female ever to be nominated for president by a major political party. For more, see page 6. Photo courtesy Twitter

Legislator: Standard Amusements breached contract By JAMES PERO Staff Writer According to one Westchester County lawmaker, less than three months into a 30-year deal transferring control of county-owned Rye Playland to management company Standard Amusements, the private group has already breached contract, failing to make its first payment to the county. “[Standard] missed their first contractual payment,” said county Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat. “We’re just giving away too much control.” According to Jenkins, who opposed the contract that turned control of the amusement park over to Standard, the company’s first payment of $1.75 million—$250,000 of which

was already paid to the county upon the contract’s approval in March—was due on June 15. Specifically why the rest of the payment wasn’t made, Jenkins said, is still unbeknownst to him and his fellow lawmakers. “There has been no information as to why they did not make the payment,” Jenkins said. “It’s possible that they didn’t know what we were going to do with [Playland’s] pool.” On July 21—more than a month after the initial payment was due—a letter from Deputy County Executive Kevin Plunkett to Standard granted the company an extension for its first payment until Sept. 30; a date that coincides with the county Board of Legislators’ revised deadline for deciding the

fate of the Playland pool, a decision that was initially supposed to be finalized by July 31. Matt Richter, communications director for the board, who described Jenkins’ characterization of a “missed payment” as inaccurate, said that negotiations about the pool have played a central role in the decision to grant Standard an extension. “[Standard] was worried about the fate of the pool,” Richter said, adding that both parties had maintained communication over the issue prior to the June 15 payment deadline. “There was never any discrepancy; never an expectation that wasn’t met.” Richter said that both parties agreed that if a payment extension was imminent, wiring the $1.5 million to the county

wouldn’t be necessary. Currently, the future of Playland’s pool is under scrutiny by the Board of Legislators, which will consider several bond acts to either renovate the pool— which continues to leak significant amounts of water daily—or to remove it completely. According to Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat who spoke about the pool last month during a committee meeting, Standard has little interest in keeping the pool. But for county Legislator Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat, the pool’s removal is a deal breaker for her. “If that was [Standard’s] intention to demolish the PLAYLAND continued on page 8

A proposed federal education regulation, which would strip Title I funding for public schools with excessive opt-out rates of standardized testing, has ignited opposition from parents, lawmakers and education professionals in Westchester County. Following an Aug. 1 deadline for public comments, the U.S. Department of Education began a final approval process to amend the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA, which was passed by Congress in December 2015. The Department of Education’s proposal to amend ESSA would label most Westchester public schools as “in need of improvement” and would cut federal funding for any school where 5 percent of students or more opt out of Common Core testing. The controversial Common Core State Standards Initiative, which highlights what students should know in English language arts and mathematics at the end of each grade from kindergarten through 12th grade, is currently authorized in New York state until 2022. “I find the regulations troubling,” said Dr. Brian Monahan, the interim superintendent of the Rye City School District. “Parents made individual decisions based on what was right for their children.” Despite the lack of notice for public comment, however, the Rye City School District will not directly get involved with the proposed legislation, ac-

cording to Monahan, but will keep a close watch on it. The federal act was drafted by U.S. Secretary of Education John King, the former New York state education commissioner, following the repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act on Dec. 10, 2015. The No Child Left Behind Act previously required all public schools receiving Title I funding to administer statewide standardized testing with the stipulation that students make “adequate yearly progress.” For example, each year’s fifth graders must score better than the previous year’s fifth graders, or the federal government would step in and set mandatory improvement plans. Parents and local school administrators have panned the Common Core testing, arguing that it takes the learning out of the classroom by setting unrealistic educational guidelines for success due to the high rate of failure on standardized tests. Linda Banta, a Larchmont resident with two children in public schools who joined a rally against the regulation on July 29 held by state Senate candidate Julie Killian and congressional candidate Phil Oliva, both Republicans, said, “It’s alarming that the federal government announced something in the middle of summer that could so adversely affect our schools and economy.” If the proposal is approved, Killian, a member of the Rye City Council, said that Westchester residents would ultimately SCHOOL continued on page 10