Q&A

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What experiences, skills and perspectives make you uniquely qualified to serve on Montclair’s BOE:

I am uniquely qualified to serve due to my personal and professional experiences, skills and perspectives. I have spent over 50 years as a Montclair resident. I attended Edgemont School, Glenfield, Mount Hebron, and graduated in 1987 from MHS. My daughter is currently a 9th grader at MHS after attending Edgemont and Buzz. I’ve experienced what has made our schools a shining light in the tri-state area as well as a dysfunctional trainwreck. I’ve seen what’s worked and what hasn’t. 

Additionally, my professional experiences make me particularly suited to serve on the board. I am a lawyer with an MBA and a Masters in public policy. I am a professional negotiator who understands contracts and law; I know how to analyze a balance sheet and spot irregularities; and I understand how state government works, which will be particularly important should a state monitor be assigned.

I have always been someone who fights for justice, for transparency, for truth. I’ve never been one to follow the herd, to go along to get along, to stay silent when I see something amiss. I promise to speak up, not shut up because that’s who I am. At this singular moment, my personality might be even more important than my deep connections to the Montclair schools and my professional experience. 

How would you work with the superintendent and the community to promote fiscal responsibility, transparency, and clear priorities in spending?

First we need to know how we got here. There has been a lot of blame shifting from those who have seen this disastrous situation unfold under their watch and no explanation as to why we should trust them again. We need some form of a forensic audit, otherwise we are doomed to repeat the past. 

As for moving forward, you can’t have a little transparency. You have to tell people the truth within the limits of the law, even if the truth is not what people want to hear. Simultaneously, we need a shared vision for what we want. The last thing we need right now is for decisions to be made without community input. I will ask the public for their help in making creative decisions about what to do, just like we did when we faced the challenges of segregation.  I would work with our insurance companies to see if there is a way to make a forensic audit happen for free as part of on-going litigation. I will scour the budget with my fellow board members and the superintendent while also making it a priority to reach out to all the stakeholders in the community. These stakeholders include parents, teachers, those who work in the central office, nurses, security staff, etc. I would encourage working with the unions to cut costs, because insurance and benefits are going up faster than taxes. Once we know exactly where we are, we can work with the stakeholders to find out what is necessary and what is not. Moving forward, we will make spending more transparent and deliberate, not just reactive.  

Part of my job is going to include saying “no”. We see where saying “yes” got us. I am fully prepared to say no and to understand that people are going to be upset. This situation is extremely upsetting and many people are going to be hurt due to past mismanagement. I can handle saying “no”. In fact, I’m good at it. The wellbeing of our children and the affordability of our town is at stake. 

Montclair is known for its diversity, but achievement gaps persist across the district. What specific policies or initiatives would you support…?

I am unique because I had the privilege of experiencing the best of the Montclair Public Schools.  I entered the school system in the mid 1970's. I highly recommend every resident watch the MFEE film, "Our Schools, Our Town" on YouTube about how the Magnet System was born of parents "crafting" the schools that they wanted their children to attend.  Things were very different for my siblings, who are about 10 years older than me, and lived through segregation.  Now, for my daughter, who is MHS class of 2029, it is different as well. Many of her friends do not understand why we have busing or magnet schools, as opposed to just neighborhood schools.  I'm living through the pendulum swinging. 

History is repeating itself without taking to heart the important lessons of Montclair's past.  We had ambitious desegregation and we continue to talk about diversity, yet we have the stubborn durability of an achievement gap.  Our population has earned national attention for its innovative approaches, yet systemic disparities by race and class widen rather than disappear. Why? Factors outside the classroom—housing, income, access to enrichment, and differential treatment within schools—have continued to drive unequal outcomes. Efforts to address those realities—de-tracking, expanded equity offices, data-driven interventions, and repeated public battles over policy and governance—signal serious commitment. However these efforts also underscore how politically and socially-fraught corrections require long-term, coordinated action across schools, families, and municipal systems. In short, Montclair’s history since 1974 shows that diversity alone is not a remedy. Without sustained, systemic investment in equitable resources, culturally responsive instruction, and targeted early-grade supports, the promise of integration will remain unrealized for the district’s most vulnerable students. We have to do better by tapping into the genius of the community once again. I am living proof that our magnet system that our community built is at the root of our ability to ensure all students have equal opportunities. There is much to be built upon this magnet system, but it is at the root. 

Unfortunately, at this moment we first have to get back to basics: balancing the budget; figuring out needs vs. wants; not settling for mediocrity. With the current budget shortfall we are at risk of losing the magnet system. To me, it is irresponsible to talk about all the wonderful programs we can launch or continue (like our restorative justice program) when these are sure to be cut. Our focus right now needs to be on financial stability and this focus will, sadly, continue for all four years of service because of the crater we have fallen into. 

I am not rich, and I want to stay in Montclair, but it is hard.  As a single mom and longtime active resident, I want to add that our diversity is dependent on people being able to afford to live in Montclair. Without strong fiscal leadership, it will become harder and harder to live and/or stay in our wonderful town. 

What frustrates you most about our schools?

The lack of communication and common sense that plagues our district really upsets me. Hearing that we have a library at a school with no librarian, and a librarian at a school with no library is the kind of waste that really rankles me. We try to teach foreign languages to students in k-5 with one hour of instruction per week.  We often prioritize spending in nonsensical ways that don’t account for the largest number of students. For example, the HVAC installation is still not complete and the MHS auditorium still has not been renovated with hundreds of seats unusable. It makes no sense.  

What do you love most about our schools?

Having spent so many years in the schools as a student and as a parent, there is so much to love! I love how we support our athletes and our artists. I love how each school has its own unique character that creates its own unique sense of pride. I love the dedication, creativity, empathy, generosity of so many of our teachers, our nurses, our security guards, our principals. I love that educators have for decades sought out jobs at our schools and then stayed in the district for decades. 

I love the promise and the idea of the magnet school system. Thanks to the solid education I received through the Montclair public schools, I was able to attend Wesleyan University, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown and the University of Virginia where I received my MBA, a Master’s degree in Public Policy and a Law Degree. I am truly grateful that I got to attend a magnet school, and I wanted that same experience for my daughter. 

How would you recommend strengthening trust…?

When emails do not get answered, when OPRA requests go unfilled, when meetings get canceled over and over again, trust disintegrates. These problems have accelerated over the past few years as have our budget problems. The superintendent is already changing how the district communicates. Ms. Turner is on the right track with open public meetings and direct communication.  With everything going on, she has returned all or virtually all emails that have come into her inbox. Now the board must follow her lead and become responsive to the community. My candidacy was a last-minute decision because I was alarmed to see that there are only two candidates who are not or have not served on the BoE during the years of extreme mismanagement. While those who have served on the BoE deserve recognition, current board members running for another term haven’t shown us they won’t end up repeating the same mistakes. We need a new style of leadership at the board that welcomes questions, criticism, ideas. We need someone who  actually enjoys working with the many stakeholders. Yes, sometimes these discussions cause friction or are in disagreement. That’s okay. As a professional negotiator, I welcome different points of view and am excited to work with all these community members.

How are you planning to vote in the 12/9 special election?

I understand why some residents would like me to state how I plan to vote on the two ballot questions in December. People feel passionately and want to know if the candidates they vote for are aligned.

However, I have decided not to take a public stance. Here is why: The elected BoE candidates will only be seated in January, after the December 9th special election. If I am elected, I will be serving regardless of the outcome. My singular vote will have no influence over what the board will need to be prepared to manage. Every board member needs to be able to adapt to the

results, even if they aren’t what they personally hoped for. Perhaps more importantly, I have not made a final decision about how I will vote because I do not have all the necessary information. At this point in time, there is a lot of missing information: Who will actually serve on the board? Will the majority be made up of members who did not serve during the shank of the crisis and/or who spoke out? Or will the majority be members who served and did not speak out? Will the financial information that we have been promised actually be released prior to the election? If so, what will we learn from this information? If not, what does that say about where we are with transparency moving forward?

My job as a member of the BoE is to take the time to gather all relevant information, to listen to the

community, and to make educated decisions regarding any and all issues–not to react without careful

assessment. I can assure anyone considering voting for me that I will do the same with my vote.