Business Administrator/Board Secretary Christina Hunt announced there would be no staff cuts for the current school year at the first public Montclair Board of Education reorganization meeting of 2024 held at George Inness Annex Atrium on Thursday. The unexpected news pleasantly surprised everyone in attendance.
Additionally, the district was able to maintain the zero debt service tax levy, as was first reported in November. This means there will be no additional taxes because of the bond referendum. The district aggressively pursued additional interest income and other financial variables in order to maintain the tax levy at zero. The only increase to taxes will be from the tax levy of 1.11% and utilizing the health insurance adjustment (banked cap), which will still equate to the 2% cap normally seen every year.
Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Ponds expressed his gratitude, “I give credit to Business Administrator Hunt for her exceptional financial stewardship and management in creating next year’s budget to retain the zero tax levy and still have no cuts to staff.”
“Being able to announce this critical component of the budget at this early date relieves the angst and hardship that staff members feel in the spring when cuts are often made,” added Ponds. “We want to ensure that staff members are confident in the fact they will be employed and have health benefits to provide for themselves and family members.”
“Budget season is often a stressful time. More than 80% of the operating budget consists of salaries and benefits and it is good to know our most valuable assets—our staff—are protected,” said newly-elected board president Melanie Deysher.
During the public comment session, many residents took the time to thank the board for its work and expressed gratitude for being heard. Several in attendance spoke to Montclair Local.
Obie Miranda-Woodley said, “As a parent, I have never felt as heard as I did when Christina Hunt announced that there would be no budgetary layoffs. The yearly layoffs have been going on for so many years with no end in sight. I am grateful to Dr. Ponds and Christina Hunt for listening to the parents and staff and bringing stability to our school district.”
“The budget presentation last night was a pleasant surprise. Even better was the announcement that there were no cuts to our beloved teachers and staff,” said Tessie Thomas. “This seems to be a direct outcome of working through systemic issues and the stability we finally have. Thank you to the district, the principals, the MEA, and the volunteer Board members for making this happen.”
June Raegner is glad that the district rolled up its sleeves and did the work it had to do. “This is something parents have advocated for at the board level for nearly dozens of years. The current administration really listened to the parents and the community and pulled a miracle.”
During the meeting, the board also handled matters related to its leadership. Melanie Deysher, Phaedra Dunn, and Allison Silverstein were sworn in, and the board elected Melanie Deysher as the new president and Mfreke Inyang as the vice president. Deysher won with a vote of 8-1, replacing Alison Silverstein, who had served as president since January 2023. Inyang’s vote count was 6-2, with one abstention from Yvonne Bouknight, who attended the meeting virtually.
Before serving on the board, Deysher was co-chair of Grow Lab at Nishuane and Hillside, a PTA member at Nishuane, Hillside, Glenfield, and Montclair High School, co-founder of SEPAC-Dyslexia Parent Network and a long-term advocate for literacy programming.
Inyang has lived in Montclair since 2018. He received his MBA in finance and international business from Rutgers University and co-founded a Newark nonprofit that connected current high school students with college mentors.
At the BoE meeting on December 18, 2023, when discussing stepping down from the presidency, Silverstein said, “It’s been a pleasure serving as the president. It was very difficult at times, time-consuming, and stretched me pretty thin, but I am proud to have done it and appreciate everyone’s support and hard work. I’m just moving to a different seat and look forward to three more productive years.”
View the presentation of the preliminary budget here.