In a letter sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl E. Heastie on Monday, the NYCLU urged the elected leaders in Albany to step in to remedy the “deplorable conditions” before the start of the next school year. The letter, which was signed off by 23 other advocacy organizations, comes after a Building Condition Survey found 70% of the school buildings to be in failing condition, with the rest determined to be unsatisfactory.

“It is unthinkable for New York to tolerate such deplorable, dangerous conditions for the students in East Ramapo schools,” Johanna Miller, Director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU said in a statement Monday. “The District has clearly demonstrated that it cannot provide a safe environment for its 10,000 public school children — the state must take over and establish an immediate plan for improving conditions.”

East Ramapo School Superintendent Clarence G. Ellis could not be reached for comment. Spokespeople for Gov. Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie also could not be reached.

The letter highlighted concerns of lead exposure and water access at the schools in the district, about an hour northwest of New York City, where 96% of students are Black, Latino, and Asian. The Building Condition Survey completed by engineering firm CSARCH found that cooking and drinking water taps at the schools had been shut off, according to a presentation reviewed by Gothamist. Local outlet lohud first reported that water had been shut off in 2016 after tests revealed unsafe levels of lead. In the letter, the NYCLU said the situation was “frighteningly reminiscent of the environmental racism seen in Flint, Michigan.”

Other problems cited in the letter included unsatisfactory ratings in some buildings of the HVAC and ventilation systems, electrical power distribution systems, and doors, windows, ceilings, wood flooring and carpeting.

The Rockland County school district has been mired in controversy over accusations of mismanagement for years. While the student body is mostly Black and Latino, most of the elected school board members are Orthodox Jewish men, the overwhelming majority of whom send their kids to private schools, according to a state monitor. The school board has steered money to private schools while making drastic cuts to public schools, the monitor said.

“We cannot allow any children to learn in such deplorable, unhealthy, environmentally racist conditions,” the final paragraph of the letter read. “East Ramapo’s white majority rule over a community of color is more reminiscent of the Jim Crow South than what we expect in New York.”

In response, the state's education department said it " has and continues to support and work in conjunction with the state-appointed monitors to ensure progress continues and the educational rights of every East Ramapo student are met."

" Over the last several years, department staff from multiple program offices have worked very closely with the district and the monitors to begin addressing facilities issues because its needs were so great," the department said in a statement. "As a result of that collaboration and planning, the district is spending nearly $91 million of federal Covid-response dollars on facilities improvements — more than any other district in the state."

This story was updated to include comment from the state's education department.