Monday, May 6, 2013
Check out what's happening this upcoming week in Montclair.
Update: The Montclair Board of Education meeting will be moved from the originally posted George Inness Annex to the Montclair High School auditorium. The Montclair Board of Education will meet Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Montclair High School auditorium, at 100 Chestnut St. The district is coming off a week where Glenfield Middle School Principal Charles Miller unexpectedly resigned after an investigation into a BB gun incident that occurred on April 24 at the school. Starting Monday, Victoria Skopak will take over as interim principal of Glenfield Middle School until the end of the school year. Montclair Recreation Department's day camp registration for children aged 5-12 will also begin on Monday at 1 p.m. To register online, visit …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Current board members Angelica Allen-McMillian and Deborah Wilson were not reappointed.
Mayor Robert Jackson announced Monday he will appoint two new members to the Montclair Board of Education. Jackson said he will nominate newcomers David Cummings and David Deutsch to the board, and reappoint current President Robin Kulwin. The three will serve three-year terms. “Both guys are really sharp in my opinion ... who want the best things for Montclair schools,” said Jackson. “They have good minds. They have a long history of working with young people in one capacity or another here in town.” The appointments of Cummings and Deutsch will end the terms of current board members Angelica Allen-McMillian and Deborah Wilson. Allen-McMillian related to Jackson earlier in April that she was not seeking a reappointment. Kulwin’s …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
'It hurts me as a taxpayer that we are spending $95,000 on this,' said Anne Barney-Giampoala, a parent and Montclair teacher.
The Board of Education had to defend a survey given to students this week that cost the district $95,000. Students in grades three through 12 began taking the Tripod Student Survey this week which Superintendent Penny MacCormack said is the “best student survey out there." The survey is part of the district's attempt to analyse key elements of classroom life, give students a voice and improve teaching practices. But residents and teachers criticized the survey’s cost and effectiveness at the board meeting on Monday. Anne Barney-Giampoala, a parent and Montclair teacher, said she believed the money spent on the survey could be used in more useful ways. Being a teacher who administered the test to her own students, she also raised …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Board of School Estimate also approved $116,000 in bonds to help pay for $2.7 million worth of districtwide capital projects.
The Montclair School District’s $114 million school budget passed Thursday night and included no tax increase. The Board of School Estimate unanimously voted to approve the school budget put together by the Board of Education. The $114 million overall budget is 3.3-percent higher than the 2012-13 budget, and $97,509,698 will be raised from taxpayers. Mayor Robert Jackson, who is on the Board of School Estimate, said the board made no substantive changes to the budget that was proposed by the Board of Education in February, but noted some adjustments could be made later. “There could be some maneuvering still, but I think it was a good job of addressing our needs,” said Jackson. “Moving forward, it certainly addresses the objectives […
Board member Angelica Allen-McMillian will not seek reappointment.
The Montclair Board of Education will have at least one new face in May. Three members of the board have come to the end of their three-year terms: Board President Robin Kulwin, and Board members Angelica Allen-McMillian and Deborah Wilson. Of the three, Allen-McMillian has related to Mayor Robert Jackson she will not seek reappointment. “There will be one new member,” said Jackson, “and I’m looking at the other spots as well.” Under Montclair’s form of government, the mayor appoints all seven Board of Education members. When asked about the other incumbents, Jackson said he was undecided about whom he would choose for the positions. “I appreciate the need for some continuity, but sometimes fresh eyes are good, too,” said …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Check out what's happening this week in Montclair.
The Montclair Board of Education will meet Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the George Inness Annex, located at 141 Park St. A meeting agenda is attached as a pdf. At the previous meetings last week, the board of education passed a preliminary $111.5 million school budget for 2013-14, which it sent to the county superintendent for approval. The budget is a 3.3 percent increase from last year but will be accompanied by no tax hike. In addition, Superintendent Penny MacCormack unveiled last week how she plans to reshape Montclair schools next year. MacCormack said Central Office will be renamed “Central Support," and the district will focus more on teacher effectiveness in the classroom by altering current positions and creating new ones. These …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
'We’ve worked so hard to get to this point,' said Board President Robin Kulwin. 'I’m not going to walk away and I don’t think anyone on our team has any intention of walking away.'
Montclair’s teachers union and school board are expected to resume contract negotiations Friday. The Board of Education and Montclair Education Association will meet at week’s end for the first time since the board filed for an impasse with the state’s Public Employee Relations Commission on Feb. 21. While the state processes the request to assign a third-party mediator which could take up to six months, Board President Robin Kulwin said negotiations must continue. “When you declare an impasse,” said Kulwin, “it doesn’t mean you can’t talk. ... Impasse never meant that you just walk away. ... We can continue to talk, we will continue to talk and I’m committed to talking.” The district will also know how much it will receive in state …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Teachers will only perform contractually-obligated work starting on Tuesday
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Sunday, February 24
The Montclair teachers' union is urging its members to pack the board of education meeting on Monday night, and has announced that teachers will begin "working to contract" as of Tuesday. That means that teachers will only perform work for which they are obligated by contract. The union has also asked its members to calculate the number of hours they've volunteered without pay since school started in September. "In an effort to demonstrate the countless hours that MEA association members volunteer in the Montclair Public School District, we are asking each MEA member to compile a list of activities that are performed by MEA members beyond contract time and without compensation," the union wrote. Teachers were asked to include the amount of…
Monday, December 17, 2012
The Montclair Board of Education unanimously appointed new principals at Mt. Hebron and Renaissance middle schools on Monday.
Two Montclair middle schools will have new principals to begin the new year. The Board of Education of Montclair unanimously appointed Jill Sack as principal of Mt. Hebron Middle School, and Barbara Weller as principal of Renaissance Middle School at Rand. Both will begin their tenure on Jan. 2, 2013. “We are all very aware these days that having an effective teacher in the classroom is tightly correlated to student achievement ...,” said Superintendent Penny MacCormack. “Second only to an effective teacher is an effective principal.” Sacks, who has spent 24 years in the district, will move from her current position as principal of the Renaissance School to head Mt. Hebron. She will return to the school where she spent more than 10 …
Monday, October 15, 2012
Here is a snapshot of the upcoming meetings and events in Montclair. Feel free to add your own items in the Comment section!
• The Garden Club of Montclair will meet at 1 p.m. in The United Way Building, at 60 South Fullerton Ave. This month the discussion will be The Artistic Elements of Landscape and Garden Design. The guest speaker will be Chuck Baum. The discussion will be $5 for nonmembers. For more information, call (973) 704-1515. • The Northern New Jersey Chapter of the Victorian Society in America will present European Diplomacy During the Victorian Era at 8 p.m. in the Montclair Women's Club, at 82 Union St. The guest speaker will be Domenic Maffei, a Caldwell College professor, who will talk about the nature of diplomacy during the Victorian Era. Refreshments will be served. There is a fee of $5 for members and $25 for nonmembers. For more …
Townie
5:17 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Does this mean the BOE got Schwartz'ed? more ›