Montclair BOE Battle of 2016: Schism Developing Between Board Members

Montclair, NJ – The Montclair Board of Education Battle of 2016 has begun.

A developing schism between the BOE’s seven members has recently been thrust into the public arena, resulting in Mayor Robert Jackson’s withdrawal of his three recent appointees to the board.

• See related article: Montclair Mayor Withdraws Board Of Education Appointments

For now, the factionalism seems to be focused around the question of what board member should serve as president.

Former board member Shelly Lombard – a member of local education advocacy group Montclair Kids First – recently sent a letter to Jackson prior to his decision to rescind his appointees, asking him to support Laura Hertzog as the new BOE president.

“I heard that a majority of Board of Education members want to replace Jessica DeKoninck as board president with Laura Hertzog,” Lombard wrote. “Laura is well-known and well-respected in this community and she would be an excellent president. I really hope that you will support Laura as president as well as her choice for vice president.”

“It is definitely time for a change at the top,” Lombard continued. “Parents need the board to spend time on education and what needs to be done to do take our schools from being good to being great, for example addressing an inadequate guidance department that forces parents to spend money on outside college consultants or smoothing the transition from middle school to MHS. But unfortunately the board has allowed every meeting to be dominated by the same group of people shouting about the same issues that have absolutely nothing to do with our children.”

“At a time when the achievement gap is one of our most glaring issues, it would be helpful to have a president who is both African-American, who was born and raised in Montclair, and who actually has children in the schools,” Lombard asserted. “It also seems unethical to have politicians who have clear conflicts of interest lobbying board members to change their vote and rescind their support for Hertzog.”

Lombard concluded:

“Being president is a tough job and I am sure Ms. DeKoninck did the best she could. But the majority has said that it's time for her to step aside gracefully so the board can begin a new chapter and focus on the job at hand.”

Montclair Kids First issued a statement in support of Lombard’s letter on Monday:

“Those who are active in support of public education in Montclair may already be aware that a majority of the new Montclair Public Schools Board of Education members favor a change in the leadership of their board. The existing board leadership, including the current president, Ms. Jessica de Koninck, have resisted this change.”

In their email statement, MKF also alleged that DeKoninck and her supporters are threatening to resign if DeKoninck is not reelected as president.

Patch reached out to DeKoninck for comment and received the following statement:

"I am writing as an individual and not on behalf of the Montclair Board of Education. I have been asked whether I intend to respond to Ms. Lombard’s letter. I do not intend to respond. Instead, I intend to continue to work to oppose the charter school application, to advance the goals of the Montclair Board of Education, to advocate for early childhood education and to address the needs of the Montclair School District."

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Photo: Jessica DeKoninck, left, Laura Hertzog, right