This piece is about Montclair schools, to set the stage on where we are and talk about what can be done to improve.

I started my career as a corporate lawyer in NYC (actually, as a “juniors program” rowing coach in Vancouver, BC… but that’s another story). Then I started a community-focused crowdfunding company, and finally joined my current business partner as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of an early stage venture capital fund almost 10 years ago. We invest in very young companies (often just formed) and help them grow to be as successful as they can. Some of these have become wonderful, very large companies that many of you know and love.

Some of you have heard or read this before, but this is a longer version of my opening remarks at the October 15 Candidate’s Forum:

Candidate Forum Opening Remarks (Long Form)

I ended the forum by stating the district is at a critical time. We have a Superintendent contract up for renewal as well as a teachers’ contract to be negotiated, both during the term of the incoming members of the Board of Ed. We are also in the midst of designing, contracting for, and spending $188MM funded by the tax payers of Montclair.

I think the points above (especially in my forum remarks) do a reasonable job of setting the stage for my views a parent and community member and what some of my goals would be as a member of the Board of Education, but I wanted to give you a little more concrete sense of how I would approach some of the specifics. Even if I am not elected I sincerely hope the Board considers taking these actions. I would consider that a win for all our children.

The Annual Teacher Firing / Re-Hiring Merry-Go-Round

The process we go through every spring, firing and re-hiring teachers is not only offensive, but leads to teachers leaving every year for other districts that will not treat them this way. The three things that seem to be the most effective in many districts are:

1. Appropriately budgeting revenue and state funding. For the 2023 budget our district assumed we would not get ~$2.5MM of state funding that we had received the year before. Ultimately, we did receive that $2.5MM again, so it is unclear why the district presented a budget without it.
2. Incentivizing teachers to announce retirement early. Whether it is a small bonus, or a slight multiple on paid out sick time, incentives seem to work across the US.
3. Better use of data. We know how many teachers we have, how old they are and how many years they have worked. We also know how many teachers tend to leave the district and/or retire each year. We should be able to use this data to make a slightly more informed decision on staffing each year.

Budget Reallocation

Someone mentioned at the 10/15/23 Candidate’s Forum that with inflation increasing faster than taxes, we often have costs increasing, like heating bills and transportation, that we never planned. That is absolutely right and is a problem that is going to affect every district in New Jersey. We need to take a very close look at our budget, our usage and our contracts and make sure there is no excess spending. For example, we need to consider seriously why some of our busses are bringing only 2 kids to school. Could we excel on moving kids around the district, while spending less money? It is worth analyzing at least. We also need to look at waste like the nearly $10,000 on a district mailer touting its achievements in late September. This is not just someone ordering a few extra pencils. How many other examples are there that we do not see?

Budget time is not just a “season”, it is a year round process of review and evaluation.

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