With the election less than a week away, the email blasts and press releases from the slates are coming fast and furious.  This morning, a Montclair 2012 mailer took Karen Turner to task for past comments about library and arts funding.  Then Real Progress Montclair has issued a statement about Montclair’s debt and taxes problem, pointing a finger at both opponents’ slates for failed policies. Not to be outdone, For Montclair opines on education.

 

From For Montclair:

Below is our position ad on education. The For Montclair candidates, from our mayoral candidate on down, have long-standing, deep family connections to, and involvement in our Montclair Public Schools.

A strong public school system is essential to Montclair’s prosperity and housing values.

Our schools attract many young families to settle in Montclair.

We support Montclair’s independent Board of Education in ensuring the continued excellence of our public schools.
Here is what ForMontclair proposes.

We strongly support Montclair’s magnet school program as a creative solution to meeting Federal desegregation goals. We commend the Board of Education’s ongoing efforts to reduce the cost of busing and other items for magnet schools.

We must invest new capital to maintain and improve our school buildings, but we are committed to (1) reducing Montclair’s debt each year by borrowing less than we paydown, and (2) working with the Board of School Estimate to compare all of the town’s capital spending needs, including those from the schools, alongside one another.

We commit to an open process for selection of new Board of Education members. Harvey Susswein, For Montclair’s mayoral candidate, will continue working with a public search committee to identify candidates and has pledged to submit his choicesfor “advice and consent” by the full council.

We support the Community Pre-K’s goal and Montclair’s forty-year tradition of offering a quality early education to all our children, regardless of ability to pay. A stable, long-term funding source for early education must be identified.

9 replies on “For Montclair Issues Statement on Education”

  2. ““advice and consent” by the full council.”

    We should all be aware that this is at the whim of the mayor – whoever wins the election. He or she will retain complete and exclusive control of these appointments. At best, committees or council approvals are advisory.

    If Mr. Susswein is unhappy about a particular choice (or rejection) by the council, he would be free as mayor to ignore it.

    …Andrew

  3. “A stable, long-term funding source for early education must be identified.”

    What is being considered? When I read this, I was reminded that those sending their children to the official Pre-K pay a higher price so as to subsidize some of the other students. Might this “funding source” be a tax on fee paid to all Pre-K schools in town?

    I’d hope not, but I wonder what else might be meant.

  5. “A stable, long-term funding source for early education must be identified.”

    That would be the taxpayers, either through higher current taxes and/or debt

  7. Jon, Your time would be better spent by trying to raise money so you can keep the Adult School afloat. Unless, of coarse, you are hoping that Tim Barr is elected and he will try to fleece the taxpayers of Montclair so we can fund you.

  8. I don’t see much being said on issues that relate to reality by any of the slates. Each slate has tried to spin issues rather poorly. I will have to hold my nose to vote.

  9. So in Harvey’s statement and David Grill’s email two days ago, they indicated that Karen Turner was unable to be a champion and advocate of the public schools. Yet the Grills sent their two children to a private boarding school. Wasn’t Mrs. Grill on the Board of Education? Was David saying that his wife wasn’t an advocate and champion of the public schools while serving? Harvey has surrounded himself with hypocrites and divisive personalities. Can’t imagine how ugly things would be if he were elected.

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