Politics on the Hudson

City Council President Chuck Lesnick added his two cents to a growing furor in the City Council over the Board of Education’s Sept. 29 lawsuit against the Yonkers inspector general.

Politics on the Hudson broke the news yesterday about a suit asking the state Supreme Court to block Inspector Genral Philip Zisman’s efforts to probe the school district. Yesterday, schools spokeswoman Jerilynne Fierstein had no comment on the matter, citing the litigation.

Here’s what Lesnick has to say:

CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT TO BoE – DO THE RIGHT THING!
Lawsuit a Waste of Taxpayers Money in Tough Economic Times

Yonkers, New York: October 13, 2009 – In response to the lawsuit filed by the Yonkers Board of Education which seeks to block the Yonkers Inspector General (IG) from investigating the Yonkers Board of Education (BoE), City Council President Chuck Lesnick today demanded that the BoE do the right thing and comply with the IG and refrain from wasting taxpayer money to defend a lawsuit that appears frivolous.
Lesnick remarked, “The main point here is that, the IG is not interfering with educational policy but merely reviewing administrative expenses like health benefits. Our residents send enough money to the Board of Education and they should immediately consent to oversight and not waste resources on litigation and force the City to do the same.”
The suit follows months of delay by the BoE to cooperate with both the IG and the City Council, in that the BoE had previously refused to comply with an IG-issued subpoena and failed to provide answers to questions about the relevant documents when requested to do so.