My Priorities
The Board sets direction, oversees the Superintendent, approves policy and spending, monitors results, and acts when the district moves away from its goals. Here are the areas where I believe stronger Board leadership can make a difference.
1. Financial Accountability During the Year
We need to ensure a financial crisis never happens again. The previous administration made it difficult for the Board and the public to see what was happening. Although the Board doesn't have direct access to the accounting books, there are policies we can put in place to ensure this kind of thing never happens again.
A clear monthly financial report
Every month, after the accounts have been reconciled, the Board and the public should be able to see:
the adopted and amended budget;
revenue and spending recorded to date;
open purchase orders and other commitments;
accrued or unpaid obligations known to the district;
the current forecast for year-end revenue and spending;
the difference between that forecast and the amended budget;
significant changes since the previous report;
a plain-language explanation for each significant difference;
cash and available reserves, with restricted funds shown separately; and
emerging risks, the person responsible for responding, and the next action.
The report should state when it was prepared and the date through which the accounts have been reconciled.
Replicate Best Practices from Other Districts
To make it easier for the public to better understand our school's financial health, we should provide an up-to-date snapshot of the financial situation, by giving residents a expected-versus-actual view of the budget organized by major spending category.
Furthermore, to facilitate a long range view of our finances, we should make it easy to compare prior budgets, current budgets, projected budgets against each other.
See these as examples of rthe things we should be able to do in Montclair:
2. Academic Progress We Can See
Set goals and report progress
Montclair should be ambitious about what every student can achieve. That ambition should be paired with a clear starting point, a goal, a timeline, and regular reporting.
I would ask the Board and superintendent to agree on specific academic goals each year. The public should receive progress updates during the year.
Results should be shown by grade and school and, with appropriate privacy protections, by student group. District averages can look strong while some students have a very different experience. The Board needs to see where progress is happening and where gaps remain.
Connect curriculum investments to results
For every major curriculum or instructional investment, the Board should know:
the problem it will solve and how it will solve it;
the evidence supporting the its success rate;
how it differs from the existing offering;
the full cost, including materials, training, staffing, and support;
whether implementation is proceeding as planned;
the starting point and expected improvement;
how progress will be measured;
whether different groups of students are benefiting; and
when the Board will decide whether to continue, adjust, expand, or replace the approach.
The district already uses state assessments and local diagnostic tools. We have an opportunity to connect that information more clearly to Board and district decisions. If a reading program is expected to strengthen foundational skills, we should track those skills as it is implemented. If a math investment is intended to improve reasoning and close gaps, we should see whether students are growing in those areas and whether the gaps are narrowing.
3. Technology that earns its place
Technology can be a valuable learning tool but it doesn't have to be. There are specific things we can do, as a Board of Ed, to help ensure we use technology the right way.
Screen time reports
The district should establish a reliable picture of current practice. I would like to put in place a district policy where we publish anonymized data by grade and school, showing time spent on district-supported applications.
We can't have a thoughtful discussion about screen time when we have no idea what the current state is. The district should report on these metrics, broken down by grade, on a regular basis.
Review before renewing
Before renewing a major technology contract, the Board should ask who used the tool, what problem it addressed, what evidence suggests it helped, and whether its value justifies its cost, privacy risks, training demands, and classroom time.
Set clear rules for AI
Students need to learn to think for themselves and to live in a world where AI exists. We have to teach them both.
Montclair should have age-appropriate guidance explaining acceptable and unacceptable uses by grade and type of assignment. It should protect student information, make clear when AI assistance must be disclosed, give teachers practical guidance, and ensure spaces in which in which students must write, reason, create, and solve problems for themselves.
The guidance should be reviewed annually.
4. Decisions people can understand
People will not agree with every Board decision. They should still be able to understand it.
When I vote on something important, I will explain what I considered, why I voted the way I did, and what I think should happen next.
Some matters involving personnel, students, legal advice, or negotiations must remain confidential. I respect those limits. But people need to understand why their elected board votes the way they do. That's what democracy is all about.
5. Practical improvements
Some district problems are complex and take years. Others stay unresolved because no one has defined the next step, assigned responsibility, or reported whether the work moved forward. The Board should know the difference.
A calendar process families can follow
The district should explain the choices and constraints before asking for community input on the school calendar. After receiving that input, it should summarize what it heard and explain how state requirements, operational needs, and community preference shaped the ultimate decision.
Alternatives to polling in schools
Election Day should not automatically cost students a day of in-person instruction when reasonable alternatives exist. The Board does not control polling locations by itself, but it can work with Montclair and Essex County election officials to identify possible alternatives, understand security and accessibility requirements, document obstacles, and report publicly on progress.
When the Board commits to resolving a practical issue, the public should be able to see the next action, responsible person, target date, and current status.
Questions and Answers
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Yes. I want the auditors to have the information they need and follow the facts. I do not want to decide in advance what they will find.
Whether the audit confirms what we know or identifies additional problems, each supported finding should lead to a corrective action with a responsible person, deadline, and evidence of completion.
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I think anyone who has a default answer to this question isn't thinking critically. Consider the extremes. If we had a 20M surplus, it would be ludicrous to put another tax vote to the town. On the other hand, if the state changed its funding formula and we would be 20M short next year, the town very well might prefer a tax increase in lieu of making more another round of severe cuts.
For me, this question is actually "when do you cross that line to think another tax increase is worth voting on?" For me, the bar is extremely high. Assuming we don't find ourselves in another 20M-budget-hole crisis, there is no reason we should ask taxpayers to vote on an increase in the coming years. I supported the referendum because I believed the circumstances were extraordinary and keeping local control mattered. Additional taxpayer money should not become a routine way to manage the district's finances.