In July 2023, the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education’s majority voted to defund critical mental health programs, including long-standing services that students had relied on for years. Under public pressure, the board majority, led by Judy Sullivan, quickly reversed this decision. Now, Cynthia Phillips and her allies are spreading a false narrative, attempting to reframe their failure of leadership as a matter of asking "important questions."
But the facts tell a different story.
Reminder: The Facts of the July Vote
In July 2023, Judy Sullivan, Kim Ansh, Marianna Emmolo, and Doreen Mariani voted to defund the Thrive and Sage programs, which together made up nearly $450,000 of the district’s mental health budget. These programs had supported students for over a decade. During the meeting, Kim Ansh stated that her vote was based on her ideological belief that mental health support should not be provided in schools.
New Information Provided by Cynthia Phillips
Despite having over 10 hours of committee meetings leading up to the vote, none of the board majority members raised significant concerns about Thrive and Sage until the night before the vote. Judy Sullivan raised concerns about Thrive in an email sent at 7:27 PM the night before the board meeting, but she framed these concerns with apologies, made no clear indication that the programs were at risk, and gave no signal of the impending vote outcome. Most of the concerns raised in the six days leading up to the meeting focused on the Care Solace program, a much smaller initiative. Notably, of the 12 OPRA'd emails Cynthia provided, not one showed that Marianna Emmolo or Doreen Mariani raised any questions or concerns prior to the vote or during the week leading up to the meeting—consistent with their lack of any public comment during the meeting itself before casting their votes.
Fact Checking Cynthia Phillips’ Claims
In her October 16, 2024, blog post, Cynthia Phillips attempts to rewrite the narrative, using carefully selected emails to justify the defunding vote. Here’s a breakdown of her claims and how the evidence contradicts them.
Claim 1 - The Media Fueled a False Narrative: Cynthia asserts that the media misrepresented the board’s actions, claiming critics said "all" mental health programs were defunded.
Reality: The media accurately reported that mental health programs, including Thrive and Sage, were defunded. These programs were the largest and most impactful services provided to students. Referring to them as “mental health programs” is accurate. Cynthia’s focus on semantics, and the word “all” is just a distraction from the real issue.
Claim 2 - Judy Sullivan Raised Important Concerns Before the Vote: Cynthia argues that Judy Sullivan raised legitimate concerns about the mental health programs prior to the vote.
Reality: Judy raised concerns about the Thrive program in an email at 7:27 PM the night before the meeting, but most of her earlier concerns focused on Care Solace, a much smaller $8,500 program. She became aware of the Thrive and Care Solace agreements on July 18th, six days before the meeting. However, she only raised concerns about Thrive the night before the vote—at 7:27 PM on July 23. This delay shows a lack of urgency and poor communication. The emails Cynthia provided show Judy Sullivan sought additional legal counsel review, even though the Busch Law Group had already reviewed it. Board member Tom Bogdansky criticized this as a "waste of taxpayer dollars," highlighting the disorganization and lack of transparency in Judy’s leadership. This is an example of Judy Sullivan weaponizing legal advice, seeking out opinions to justify her stance. Wasn’t one of the reasons given by the Busch Law Group for resigning due to the weaponization of their advice? This tactic reflects a lack of transparency and poor leadership. Wasting taxpayer money on redundant legal opinions harms the district's finances. Judy’s criticism of the Busch Law Group for "misunderstanding the scope of work" further suggests she was trying to discredit counsel who didn’t align with her agenda.
Claim 3 - Last-Minute Information Overload: Cynthia portrays the board majority as overwhelmed by too much information right before the vote, implying this justifies their decision to defund the programs.
Reality: This is an excuse. The board majority had ample time to review the programs and ask questions. Most concerns raised before the vote involved Care Solace, not Thrive. Concerns about Thrive were only raised last minute, with no signal the programs were in jeopardy, shows Cynthia’s claim is a post-hoc rationalization.
Claim 4 - The Board Majority Was Simply Asking Important Questions: Cynthia frames the board majority’s actions as a reasonable attempt to ask important questions and ensure transparency before voting.
Reality: Public comments from Kim Ansh during the meeting reveal this wasn’t about questions—it was about ideology. Kim explicitly stated mental health services should be the responsibility of parents, not schools. Emails show most focus was on Care Solace, not Thrive. The board majority’s decision was driven by ideology, not facts.
Claim 5 - The Superintendent Was Not Blindsided: Cynthia disputes the claim that former Superintendent Dr. Rui Dionisio was blindsided by the vote, arguing emails show he knew of Judy Sullivan’s concerns before the meeting.
Reality: Emails don’t support Cynthia’s claim. They show Dr. Dionisio, and the administration were blindsided. In public statements after the meeting, Dr. Dionisio said this was the first time in his tenure he had no indication the programs wouldn’t pass. No clear warning was given to the administration or the public before the vote.
Claim 6 - Blaming the Superintendent: Cynthia attempts to shift blame to Dr. Dionisio for the confusion and chaos.
Reality: The blame-shifting in Cynthia’s post echoes emails from the board majority, who portrayed themselves as victims of public backlash. The emails show a clear lack of communication and responsibility from the board majority. The superintendent did not withhold information; the board majority’s failure to communicate their intentions led to chaos.
Exposing Leadership Failures
The emails Cynthia shared from her OPRA request show how poorly the board majority communicated with each other and the administration. Judy Sullivan’s leadership failures are clear. On July 20th, Tom Bogdansky emailed Judy asking why she hadn’t shared the Busch Law Group's information. This illustrates a breakdown in communication, as Judy and Kim Ansh failed to keep their colleagues informed.
Judy revealed in a July 23rd email, she had known about the Care Solace and Thrive agreements since July 18th. Despite this, she waited until the day before the meeting to raise concerns about Thrive. This delay reflects poor judgment and contributes to the confusion that blindsided other board members and the administration.
Judy Sullivan’s critical statements about the Busch Law Group on July 19th, accusing them of misunderstanding the scope of work, show a pattern of discrediting professionals whose advice doesn’t align with her agenda. This behavior, combined with the request for more legal opinions wasted taxpayer dollars.
Accountability and Transparency Are Needed
The emails Cynthia Phillips provided do not support her claims of transparency or thoughtful decision-making. Instead, they show the board majority defunded mental health programs without informing the administration or public. They then shifted blame and created a false narrative.
The FACTS are clear: Judy Sullivan, Kim Ansh, Marianna Emmolo, and Doreen Mariani put students at risk by defunding essential programs. When confronted with the consequences, they deflected and misled the public.
As we approach the election, it’s crucial to hold the board majority accountable for their actions and demand transparency moving forward.
I encourage anyone interested in the truth to review the emails Cynthia Phillips provided as her proof to support her claims. They can be found at my google drive the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vy_3FJppNfbiKQhLXMl8P1SfCFQbqHI8/view?usp=sharing
The emails actually tell a very different story from the one Cynthia is trying to sell.