Vote Montclair

Voters will decide Nov. 2 whether Montclair should have an elected or appointed school board.

Voices from Vote Montclair and the League of Women Voters. Watch the event live on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. and get your questions heard.

The event on Monday, Oct. 25 will be the second such forum in a week, following another by Montclair Local this Thursday.

Debra Caplan argues a mayor-appointed board of education has no real incentive to heed the complaints and concerns of residents.

By SERGIO GONZALEZ Special to Montclair Local The upcoming referendum on whether Montclair should switch from an appointed to elected board of education model is very different from the other choices township voters face. Unlike the normal contests between candidates, it is quite literally a referendum on the value of elections, and of democratic norms...

The Montclair League of Women Voters proposes an alternative to having Mayor Sean Spiller, president of the NJEA, pick school board members.

They protested the big-ticket fundraiser itself, and Spiller's role as an officer in the powerful NJEA, which has supported his campaign.

Vote Montclair founder Erik D'Amato asks: "Who in town benefits most from continuing a system in which turnout in some years is below 10%?"

Both sides say the others aren't being honest about their contact leading up to a rejection of the petition.

"It's a bit of an insult," Township Attorney Ira Karasick said Tuesday.