Montclair School Advocates Leave Group Over Founder’s Statement

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The Montclair advocacy group that helped see a landmark school board election law to the finish line has seen mass defections in the wake of a controversial statement from its founder that bashed teachers unions. And on Friday, he issued a message to his neighbors: “Sorry and thanks.”

Less than a year ago, Montclair was among the only towns in New Jersey where its board of education was appointed by the mayor, instead of being elected. But as a result of last November's referendum, Montclair is making the switch to an elected school board.

With the aid of Erik D’Amato, Vote Montclair successfully lobbied for the referendum, which saw overwhelming approval. Montclair held a special election on March 8 to choose two new members of the board for one-year and nine-month terms. Two candidates backed by Vote Montclair emerged victorious, according to unofficial results: Phaedra Dunn and Melanie Deysher.

Both Dunn and Deysher are among the former supporters who are now distancing themselves from the group and calling it “defunct,” Baristanet reported.

Others leaving Vote Montclair include Sergio Gonzalez, a former board of education member who served as co-chair, Montclair Local reported.

• See related article: Departing Montclair School Board Member Says Reform Is Needed

In his op-ed, published on njedreport.com, D’Amato called Montclair “a town so friendly to education unions that it would elect the [New Jersey Education Association] president as mayor,” referring to Sean Spiller.

D’Amato wrote:

“In my discussions with parents and other voters before and after the referendum, it became clear to me that one of the major, if quietly voiced, concerns with the schools involved the outsized influence and often weak performance on the part of teachers in, or past, the twilight of their careers. Often the frustration was in watching the advancement of energetic younger teachers slowed down, or their dismissal under ‘last in first out’ rules. In some cases, truly toxic senior teachers were seen as untouchable, even when (sometime much younger) principals tried to rein them in. While the negative impact of tenure and seniority on schools isn’t news to those focused on education policy, it remains a taboo topic in places like Montclair. And this only further emboldened voters interested in a change.”

ERIK D’AMATO: ‘THIS WAS NOT THE RIGHT MESSAGE’

On Friday, D’Amato issued an apology for his earlier statement via the Vote Montclair email list.

He wrote:

“As you have likely heard, Vote Montclair was in the news over the last two weeks for two reasons, one happy and one sad. The happy reason, of course, was the school board election made possible by the successful referendum campaign we spearheaded last year. The sad reason was a controversy which arose over an article I wrote about the two elections. The Montclair Local has details of the sad story here, to which I’d only add a few additional thoughts.

“First, and most important, I apologize for causing distress to many whom I consider friends, and disappointing the large number of residents who have supported Vote Montclair. Personally I stand by what I wrote, but I should have known better. This was not the right message, in the right words, at the right time. It was not in the best interest of the group I had created and urged others to believe in, or the core issues it was built around, and those should have taken priority.

“Vote Montclair has had genuine achievements, above all a legally-independent school district with an elected BOE. We weren’t able to get to the goal line in our attempt to have our quadrennial municipal elections moved from May to November, like virtually every other community in the state. But our efforts there brought the shortcoming to light, and it is now very much on the community agenda, along with a greater interest in accountability, transparency and honesty in local government.

“It felt good, I admit, to speak my mind candidly, but I did not think, as I should have, about the cost. I let down friends and collaborators and the capacity to continue important initiatives we started is in doubt. Most pressing among these is to ensure that a pending drive to modify the Township’s form of government is conducted fairly and objectively, and not with the goal of furthering the interests of a few insiders, and results in local elections being held when people actually vote.

“In sum, I am grateful for your previous support and trust. I am sorry if I betrayed it, or if this apology seems insufficient. Either way, please, and most importantly, don’t let any mistakes I’ve made become a reason for your voice to be any less loud than we all need it to be.”

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