If Pegi Adam has her way, Montclair voters will be asked on the Nov. 3 general election ballot if they want to elect their own school board, rather than having it appointed by the mayor. Adam and supporters have started circulating a petition and now have about 300 signatures. They need 911 verified signatures, she says, to get the initiative on the ballot.
“I truly just got fed up,” said Adam, who started MontclairWatch.org, an internet watchdog group, two years ago. “I got fed up with having people complain. I got fed up with going to Board of Ed meetings and getting patronized. A lot of parents are lined up to sign this petition.”
The movement draws on a wellspring of resentment about rising school budgets in a time of fiscal crisis. But Adam insists that the effort is more about choice than it is about dollars.
“Is it going to save money? Maybe,” she said. “But at least the people in the town are going to decide if they want to pass budgets or not pass budgets. One of the reasons for living in a small town is that people vote. It’s a perfect microcosm of democracy.”
The petition to make Montclair’s school board elected can be found here. Volunteers are also circulating it at the Montclair Farmer’s Market, at local train stations and in front of the CVS in Upper Montclair. Pegi Adam can be reached here.
I seriously hope this passes so BOE members like Shirley Grill, who was appointed because of campaign funding and “friendship” are removed over time.
Also, citizens of Montclair can hold accountable its BOE members when they choose a New Highschool Principal from a failing Trenton School System.
She right when she says it will not reduce costs, but it is a start. Hopefully this will abolish the BOSE, which is so inclined to throw money at a worsening school system in Montclair.
“ITS TIME FOR CHANGE”
Lets also not forget, giving Frank Alvarez a 5yr contract worth more than 3 times the median income of a Montclair Household!
I hope this passes. Good luck.
I hope it passes, too. But, I also hope there aren’t too many people who have their hopes up that this will actually do anything to lower taxes.
That would require a group of people actually willing to stand up to the thugs in the Teachers’ Union, Alveraz, and all the parents who think their kid’s activity / special need is the one that the town absolutely can’t do without.
Kudos to Ms. Adam! She was actively involved in derailing the wayfinding boondoggle some time back.
Good luck. Once the elitists start to mobilize and start shrieking about single issue candidates, anecdoting horror tales from elected districts, mobilizing the “non partisan” League of Women Voters, pc union shills, racialist bomb throwers, denizens living on The Hill, all in the name of the kids. It lost 1 to 2 the last 2 times out I hope it does better this time.
For the record, I did not fund Ed Remsen’s campaign to get a seat on the Montclair Board of Education. I am a friend of the former mayor, and I felt privileged to be asked to serve on the board. I did so because of my deep belief in our educational system and my hope that I could add value as a member of the board. If Kyle would like to discuss my qualifications or my work on the board, I am listed in the Montclair phone book. Feel free to call me. And should Kyle wish to apply for a seat on the board, he can apply at the Montclair Municipal building and I am certain the mayor will consider his application along with the overwhelmingly large number of applicants who apply to serve on the board. As one can see from the posts, the respect, power and prestige that BOE members get are extraordinary…who wouldn’t pay to get this position.
But I suspect that Kyle won’t bother to call or visit me at BOE meetings. It is much more fun to rant anonymously from the sidelines.
Qualifications my foot. Why have you approved a 5 year contract for an imitation Supt. A budget that raises taxes. Why keep information from the Council. Why have you not called for layoffs, furloughs and allowed the mediocrity of the the HS to continue unabated. Why has there been no publication of the CAPA review of the HS?
You and your colleages are a disaster who dismiss the public as ignorants who don’t understand what an excellent school system we have. Shame on you and your fellow qualified unaccountables.