Community points of view

We’re all feeling the pinch.

Send us a message and tell us what you think, so we can share it here with the community. Let us know if you’d like to remain anonymous or not.

Let’s be respectful – comments targeting specific schools or student subsets will not be posted. The focus is on how our community will face the issue together.

Comments below were approved for posting by the people who made them.

Hear from the community

From the latest BoE meeting (Nov 17).

Community comments

  • “This is an adult problem, created by adults, and we have an adult solution, right in front of us, by voting YES / YES. It is neither fair nor ethically acceptable to place the burden of solving this problem on our kids. We, the adults, did this, and we need to fix it. If we throw up our hands and refuse to raise taxes to address our mistake, what we’re really saying to the kids is: sorry, we aren’t willing to fix it... you’ll have to do it for us. We must vote YES / YES.

    — community member

  • “The biggest problem with all of this is confidence and trust. I think most people would be willing to say yes to #1 to get us out of this mess and just want to know that #2, $7.6 will keep their kids in their schools with normal things like art, music, librarians, clubs, working bathrooms, and all the special needs supports. THEN, we will somehow trust the BOE and Turner to restructure and find savings so we can make improvements along the way annually without ending up right back where we are in a couple years. This is what I keep thinking about and am hearing everywhere.”

    — community member

  • Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming to gather so quickly and creating this site and mission. I am a “soon to be”, but currently non-tenured teacher at Bradford School teaching 2nd grade who will likely get a termination letter Nov 1. I love my job with all of my heart and my day-to-day support and impact on my students. I am devastated to think I may lose this coveted and cared for teaching position - through no fault of my own. Thank you for creating this site and standing up for teachers.

    — community teacher

  • “Whoever can’t understand that the increase in tax is nothing compared to the dumpster dive their home value is about to take is… I CAN’T!!!”

    — community member

  • “A $2,000 tax increase is approx. 0.0017% of the average value of a Montclair home. If a ‘school quality perception factor’ contributes just 1% towards the average Montclair home price, whether or not you are using the school system, we may be comparing over $10,000 home value put at risk vs. a $2,000 tax increase on average.”

    — community member

  • “I’m voting yes because I worry about what the cuts will do to children and because I care about the people who will lose their jobs, who are not the people who should be losing their jobs. But a lot of people should be losing their jobs and we should know why they are not.”

    — community member

  • “Who will be 'local control' is my question - if the people that got us here, roll in the state monitors... Surely a top level objective should be a deep investigation into the alleged malfeasance, and a turnover of the boards finance committee”

    — community member

  • “I have exited anger phase and have moved into action.”

    — community member

Community letters

  • "Half of Montclair's school nurses are on the termination list. Remaining nurses will have to cover multiple buildings. A school nurse is often the first responder when a child has a seizure, asthma attack, or severe allergic reaction to a food or bee sting. Seconds matter if your child needs an EpiPen or has low blood sugar, and a nurse's quick action could save their life. Every student deserves a safe school - not just those who happen to attend one of the few buildings left with a dedicated nurse. Without enough nurses, schools could have long gaps where no licensed medical professional is onsite. If untrained staff are asked to give insulin or respond to a seizure, it puts both the child and the district at legal risk. When nurses are available, attendance improves and teachers can teach instead of managing health crises. Without a nurse, more kids will go home unnecessarily - and parents will get called away from work. School nurses keep everyone's kids safer, healthier, and in school. We understand budgets are tight - but replacing nurses with untrained staff doesn't save money when emergencies, lawsuits, or parent backlash follows."

    — community member

  • "Like so many in this town, and with two children in the public school system, I’m deeply worried about the repercussions of the MPSD budget deficit. I agree that this is a time to band together and find solutions as a community, and I’m heartened by the engaged, caring, and thoughtful residents who have stepped up to ask hard questions and participate in this process. I concur with the serious concerns about the possibility of a state fiscal monitor and have heard about the negative experiences of school districts that have had one imposed. I’m frustrated, however, by a lack of acknowledgment of the inherent economic inequity perpetuated by a flat-percentage, proportional property tax. Yes, the amount of a property tax increase will differ by a home’s assessed value. You write, "we're all feeling the pinch," as if that is the same pinch ... But the significance of that percentage tax and the financial strain felt by residents of different economic classes will be far from equal. For an owner of a $3 million home, $10,000 is a large sum to pay, a sacrifice, but would mean foregoing a luxury expense for that year. For an owner of a home assessed at $300,000, or for a renter facing rent increases, $1,000 more for the year will cut into affording basics. When we’re talking about stripping the school system of anything that is not “core academics” we must recognize that $1,000 extra in property taxes for those families already stretched living in Montclair means they won’t afford out-of-school tutoring and music lessons for their kids, either. Know that when you’re asking for a fixed-rate property tax increase, you’re asking to put a disproportionate burden on your lower-income neighbors. Why can’t we find another tax system (a sales tax, a restaurant tax, a luxury tax?) that would remedy this inequality? It is so frustrating that this crisis has created a situation where there is no time to find creative and more just alternatives in the rush to save our schools. In the meantime, some of us are asking, can we afford to live here at all? I don’t have the solution to this very difficult equation. I don’t mean to undermine the laudable efforts to forge a path forward in our budget crisis; I do believe we should all pitch in to help. I just want to bring this town’s economic inequalities into focus in this discussion."

    — Renaissance & MHS parent

  • "Thank you to everyone for creating this group. As a non-tenured teacher I don't have enough words for how crushing this all is. I was at the BOE meeting last night. All I could think was that it's incomprehensible that they are all unaccountable for their actions. The ripple of damage that they have now caused to such a large amount of people is mind numbing. Loss of income. Loss of livelihood. Loss of purpose. Loss of connection. Loss of joy. I just feel like I am living in the worst unimaginable timeline. To think they knew this information last May and still hired us back only to fire us in the middle of a school year when there are no teaching jobs to get. To think we're all going to be fighting for jobs against each other. As a resident of this town, this is the town I want to teach in not another town. To think as a resident of this town, I'm going to vote for these two options and then not have enough income to pay for the increase is distressing. But mostly to think I'm going to lose my job through no fault of my own is heart wrenching. I raised my kids in this town and they've had some amazing teachers and many of them are here and will retain their jobs, but I also know that not all the best teachers have tenure. Many left the classrooms for their own goals and growth and are happy where they are. To think that they will be forced to be transferred into positions that are not the ones that they would prefer to have is a disservice to them and a disservice to the students who are going to be impacted. many of the non-tenure teachers are incredibly full of passion, new ideas, excitement and I know I'm one of them and I'm just devastated."

    — non-tenured teacher & community member

  • “As a resident and parent in Montclair, I’m reaching out with a deep sense of urgency and hope regarding the future of our public schools. With six elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school serving as the backbone of our community, I’m asking what more can be done to help sustain and stabilize these institutions during these turbulent times. The December 9th ballot presents both an opportunity and a risk — one that will shape our town for decades to come. We all recognize that the challenges facing Montclair are complex, but I believe local leadership, clear communication, and active collaboration can prevent the kind of long-term oversight and disruption that neighboring districts have endured. I’m committed to working constructively toward solutions and ensuring our children continue to learn in thriving, well-supported environments. I’d welcome any guidance or support in amplifying awareness and aligning the community around this shared goal."

    — Justin Verga, Montclair Resident & Parent