ptacpres

Good evening. My name is Tessie Thomas and I am the President of the Montclair Council of PTAs (PTAC) an elected body that represents and supports the whole community.

 

I hope everyone managed well through the toxic smoke last week and are now making the most of the clean air around us.

 

As the year draws to a close, I can’t help but be reflective. It is just amazing how quickly this year has gone by. It was an eventful year but somehow seems to have gone through even faster than other years. For that matter, the last 2 years have gone quick. The last 2 years – following Covid have by definition been unprecedented as none of us have had the playbook for how to recover from a pandemic. I would like to share a few observations of our post recovery period and some of PTAC’s accomplishments tonight.

 

2 years back as President of PTAC, we decided to do things somewhat differently. We wanted to be more efficient with meetings, we wanted to be more impactful, we wanted to ensure that we leaned on lessons learned from the past, we wanted to sharply focus on powerful advocacy and learn from each other. In keeping with these thoughts, we adopted 6 themes that most of you have heard before–

 

1. Diversity of faces and diversity of voices
2. Connecting with all
3. Proactive
4. Encouraging volunteers
5. Efficiency
6. PTAC Brand

 

I must say that we adhered very closely to all of the above. The last one – PTAC Brand was one which is likely to be misinterpreted. So I would like to read from what I said in the first PTAC meeting 2 years back when we adopted these themes, I quote –

 

“… – we want to make sure that when PTAC acts, makes a statement, makes a point to the district, or to anyone – it is one that is thoughtful, impactful, relevant, unbiased, timely, and actionable. It is very easy to be in our situation and react to everything that happens around us. I am going to be strong on vetoing issues that don’t fit this structure. We are going to make sure that we do not make any statement for the sake of public posturing alone. I want to ensure that PTAC is influential that we are given a seat at every table for no other reason than being seen as a valuable contributor. I will watch out meticulously to not dilute the PTAC brand. Our focus will be on better outcomes for our children and if something doesn’t quite fit, let’s make sure we don’t overstep our scope as when we lose focus or try to get too many things done we may end up not doing much at all.

In terms of our focus, I want to ensure that we don’t start assuming that it is our mission to run the district. We need to leave that to the district professionals, and the BOE. But it is our mission to bubble up issues and get commitments to fix the problems we highlighted. Let’s hold their feet to the fire. There is a fine line between that mission and actually running the district. Let’s not cross it…”

 

Given this initial outlook, I must say we carried it out to a tee. How we at PTAC decided to conduct ourselves makes a lot of sense under any scenario, but it was especially well suited for where we were 2 years back, coming out of the pandemic. We were in an acrimonious environment coupled with the instability of having seen a number of superintendents go in and out of the district in the last few years. It was a time when it seemed like the stakeholders had concluded that the way to get anything done in the district was to be shrill at the BOE meetings and take shots. It also seemed like when that failed the solution was to be even more pointed and louder. Additionally, the revolving door in the superintendent’s office was conducive to kicking the can down the road. Even under the best of intentions, given the significant and deep-rooted problems, kicking the can down the door was many a times the expedient outcome. Systemic problems festered.

 

In this environment, we decided to hit “reset”. We decided to try something new – “collaboration”. We decided that we will start by trusting every stakeholder’s intent – we believed and still do that every stakeholder in this is trying to do right thing. When we adopted this approach, we were surprised with the reception and I think to some extent, the stakeholders were also surprised that we trusted their intent and were willing to talk about ways to make progress. I have to say that this approach has enabled all of us together to actually get things done.

 

We are not naïve to think that acrimony is dead, or that everyone buys into collaboration – but it is clear that there is consensus that collaboration has been more effective and impactful over the last 2 years.

 

One of the proudest moments for us was on May 16^th this year when the BOE, MEA and PTAC together went to the town council meeting to raise the issues of overall operating funding proportion allocated to the schools and the issue of no Payment in Lieu of Taxes money flowing through to school funding. This was a follow up to the joint letter that the BOE, the District, and PTAC sent to the town council raising these issues. This is collaboration in action – it is no longer just talk – let’s keep at it, our children deserve it.

 

Continuing down the path of summarizing some of the accomplishments of the last 2 years. I would like to highlight a few “concrete deliverables”.  Since we emphasized “concrete deliverables” from all it is only appropriate that we hold ourselves to those standards. Here we go –

 

1. Getting the community investment plan passed. We worked hard, we worked together, and we all went above and beyond. In the process we got the bond referendum passed and won the national PTA award. But the true award is that we now have the much needed $188M investment going into schools that will be transformational and will last several decades for the current and future Montclair community. We all should be very proud of this.
2. Reflections, a national competition – we were able to put Montclair on the map. We went from “what is it; how do we participate in it” to having two national winners this year. To anyone who is looking for an answer to the question – why do we do this – one look at the kids beaming at the award celebrations where their work was displayed – you will have your answer. We created a lasting memory and who knows, we may even have reinforced their confidence in themselves and added to their resume.
3. When coming out of Covid there was confusion on how to get back in schools and the “mask-mandate” – we conducted a highly effective and timely survey of the families that provided clarity for decisions.
4. We conducted a survey around effective communications that has resulted in several changes that the district adopted. I know we have ways to go, but our survey got it started.
5. We engaged with the district on scheduling, start times, and busing discussions.
6. We jumped up and supported the B&G crew in the recovery efforts from hurricane Ida. We got Montclair restaurants to donate food and our great community did what great communities do – we helped each other out.
7. We ran several town halls and discussion panels covering pre-schools, budgeting 101, transition to middle school, transition to high school, and entering the Elementary Schools.

 

The list of what we have accomplished is much longer, but I wanted to highlight a few to remind ourselves that what we do together has real and lasting impacts.

 

Speaking of impact – we asked each of the school PTAs to provide us with some overall dollar numbers on the PTA support for our teachers and the students. We have consolidated these numbers across our schools and here is what the overall impact looks like –

 

Our PTAs collectively raise, on an average, about $600,000 across the schools every year. About $120,000 of this money is directly contributed to the teachers in the form of grants, teacher appreciation, and special projects. About $350,000 of this money is directly contributed to the students and the community in the form of events, scholarships, and special projects. Remember – all of this is done by volunteers – a truly herculean task that speaks volumes about the volunteers and our community. The dollar amounts represent just one of the ways in which PTAs have an impact. The advocacy and the other efforts that don’t necessarily involve dollars are even more valuable and can’t be measured in dollar terms.

 

As the end of the year approaches, the transition to new PTA Boards also gets underway. The PTAC Board for 2023-25 elected in by all the PTAs is:

 

• Gretchen Devinsky, President
• Linda Kow, VP
• Stacy Ann Greene, VP
• Obie Miranda Woodley, Treasurer
• Shameah Kinch, Secretary

 

Congratulations and thank you for raising your hands and taking this on.

 

July 1 is when this new Board will get started. I am thrilled to be passing the baton to this capable group.

 

It has been a great run and I want to thank a few folks who have been instrumental in making our efforts a success over the last 2 years.

 

I want to thank the BOE, Dr. Ponds, and the central office team. You have always been responsive to us and have attended all our meetings and addressed concerns live during the meetings and after that. We know you have been dealt with a tough hand. So thank you. A special shout out to Nina De Rosa without whom none of this can get done.

 

I want to thank Cathy Kondreck and her team for attending our meetings, working collaboratively with us, and lifting us up by the “above and beyond” contributions to the Reflections program. I know this must not have been easy and we are grateful to you for your responsiveness to us and support.

 

I would also like to thank each and every member of the current and the past PTAC Board – Courtney, Reggie, Yvette, Gretchen, Diane, and of course, Brain who moved on to the BOE but continued with his valuable insights. This is the team that has always engaged in open, honest, respectful, and many a tough discussion. Those discussions and the work together made us a better PTAC.

 

Likewise, I would like to thank each of the PTA Presidents and volunteers with our endless text messages and constant communications. I know each PTA President and volunteer puts in countless thankless hours while managing all other demands on their time while keeping a sane head on their shoulders. They are the frontline where the rubber meets the road. Thank you.

 

Over the last 2 years, working together with all – BOE, District, MEA, and all the other stakeholders in town, has been a stark reminder – we are all in this together. Our individual success is completely tied to our collective success and the only way we can have a real and lasting impact on the lives of the young ones graduating from the Montclair School system is by working together. Future generations will remember not only what we did, but also how we did it.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Good evening. My name is Tessie Thomas and I am the President of the Montclair Council of PTAs (PTAC) an elected body that represents and supports the whole community.

 

Although there is a lot going on, we would like to focus our comments on the budget and where we are today. Much like last year, we are also going to highlight some systemic issues that create our current quandary and are unlikely to go away in the years to come.

 

The last few days have been very upsetting. As the news about 55 staff cuts came through, suddenly the budget process became inexplicable, upsetting, and contentious. While it is true that the budget process forces us to live within our means, and to only approve spending what we have – the real impacts are on the lives of people and their families – at that point it becomes personal and it is no longer about a process or numbers. At that point we are talking about some beloved teachers and paras.

 

This also puts us in a situation where emotions run high and misinformation spreads easily. Battle lines get formed unnecessarily and we forget that we are all in this together. So, I would like to start by reminding everyone what we had asked the Board last year when we were faced with budget cuts –

 

We had made 3 specific recommendations to the Board and the District –

 

1. Principals be involved early and deeply in the process. Early involvement of Principals with guidelines around maintaining confidentiality, given the personnel matters here, would be highly productive.
2. The Montclair Education Association be involved early and have them also be party to the same confidentiality guidelines.
3. The community representatives be involved under the same confidentiality.

 

This year we understand that the first 2 of our recommendations were followed, but the earlier involvement of community representatives didn’t happen – so we are 2 for 3.

 

These recommendations are driven by the desire to come up with better decisions as we believe in transparency and we also believe that no one person or group has a lock on good ideas.

 

I know that there are a lot of upset folks with where we stand today. There are many aspects of the budget and many complexities involved, made worse because there is a deficit, and very upsetting when it is clear that we are dealing with decisions that has significant impacts on people’s lives and their livelihood. The emotions are hard to keep in check and our love for our teachers and the programs for our kids make this very difficult.

 

We would like to provide some context here and highlight the systemic and persistent nature of some of the issues in the budget process. One of the top issues that make the budget structurally very difficult is – the 2% cap on tax levies for schools. The schools, under current state mandates, cannot increase their budget by more than 2% annually. As we know – the contract with Teachers has a 3% raise for teachers in it and before anyone can raise an issue with that – remember we have had one of the worst inflation in recent times that ran almost to double digits in some months. So before we blame anyone – let’s acknowledge the terrible situation we are in – high inflation, teachers who have practically taken a paycut, and revenue ceiling that is mandated. We have a math problem. So in order to bring the budget where we plan to spend only the money we have, it leaves us with no great option. Given that the 2% cap is not going to be breached, costs can be reduced by either reducing number of teachers or programs. This is the terrible reality of our current budget situation.

 

One other thing to point out is that every year the school district is faced with uncertainty on retirements and attrition. I don’t have the exact date, but a teacher can choose to announce their retirement after the budget approval. I can imagine that not every teacher is in a position to make clear plans way ahead of time and may themselves face uncertainty, but this causes the district to go through the disruptive process of RIFs and then rehiring. This is a systemic issue, but one we urge to be an area of focus and solve through some creativity and incentives.

 

So given the points we just covered, it is clear that we have limited dollars and competing demands on how those dollars are spent. It is clear that we want all the amazing programs, we want none of our teachers to lose their jobs, we want our teachers to be well paid given the outsized impact they have on our children, we want it all. The citizens of Montclair will also clearly tell us that we are overburdened by property taxes and that we want lower taxes. So we all want it all, but it is clear for now – we can’t have it all.

 

We understand that budgets are complicated – made even more complicated when we face deficits. Budgets are policy and strategy statements. Budgets show what one values – what our priorities are. Budgets are also the moment of truth as they force us to make decisions and disclose decisions on how to manage plans that need money that we just don’t have. Let’s also acknowledge that Budgets for a Public School are a process of negotiations that plays out in public. We all know how budgets work. Many of us have been involved in budget processes at work or maybe even at home. It plays out typically in patterns that are familiar to us between the budget requester and the budget approver.

 

Budgets also force us to make tradeoffs. We want it all and I know many of us will step up to make the case for our beloved teachers or our beloved programs. I urge us to always do that so that our voices are heard, but I also urge that we take it a step further and highlight what we are willing to give up to have what we want. That would make these comments even more constructive.

 

We highlighted last year some macro factors at play and I will run through them as important context for the current discussion –

 

1. Lower enrollment – we have lower enrollment than in previous years. The audit report shows us that we had 6,659 students in 2019 and that number is 6,048 in 2022 – a loss of 611 students. With the passage of the bond referendum and investing in schools this may get reversed soon, but for now this is the reality.
   1. This leads to not only lower overall needs, but also to…
   2. Disruption in utilization of certificated teachers – some may be left with fewer hours of need in their buildings and may get utilized in ways that doesn’t comport with their qualifications – leads to inefficiencies
2. Inflation has caused costs to go up, so we have a bigger hole in our budget
3. State or federal aid is not going up any time soon and property tax increases impact everyone in the community especially the most vulnerable in the community
4. Fiscal discipline is no longer a buzz word or a matter of choice, but the only way to conduct ourselves
5. On the other hand – we have fantastic educators. Our teachers work hard, go out of their way, and are dedicated to the students. They have their own families and like everyone else, they expect some certainty in their jobs – this is their livelihood!

 

These factors create a high stakes situation ripe for everyone to get riled up.

 

Turning our attention to the tax levies that support our school district. We sent a letter to the town council urging them to revisit both the percentage of overall town budget spent on education as well as the decisions on PILOT generated funds to increase funding for schools. There are likely to be creative paths such as allocation of shared services, or provision of certain services by the town for the schools that could alleviate the spend by schools while meeting the standards of the 2% cap on operating budget. The letter was from Dr. Ponds, BOE President Allison Silverstein, and me. We understand that the MEA is also on board with this request. Together, we plan make these points at the Town Council meeting tomorrow May 16^th at 6 PM. We hope to see many of you there as we are at the “no stone unturned” moment. It is also an opportunity for the Town Council, Board of Education, District Administration, MEA, and PTAC to work together for our children and their future.

 

As pointed out last year, it’s worth repeating – budget outcomes are never close to our worst fears or our most optimistic hopes. Typically, the outcomes land in the middle – we don’t get everything we want, nor do we lose everything that we feared.

 

We are hoping that despite the fiscal limitations summarized in the budget, and the intense on-going discussions between stakeholders, we are able to see through next year viably and without material impacts. It is our expectation that the education programs and offerings don’t get cut and the RIF impacts get reversed materially.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

Good evening. My name is Tessie Thomas and I am the President of the Montclair Council of PTAs (PTAC) an elected body that represents and supports the whole community.

Congratulations on the $75,000 award for playground upgrades – great to hear that it alleviates some of the taxpayer burden by offsetting the costs associated with the capital spend.

Our first update today is about Reflections – we are working on the celebration slated for 6 PM on May 4 at the Women’s Club. Our fingers are crossed for our state level winners to potentially win at the national level. I would like to acknowledge all the support and contributions from the district and the MEA for Reflections. I keep getting calls from Central Office saying another box showed up. Thanks to the MEA we now have the display hardware we need and fund contributions for the celebration.

On another district wide initiative, as you are aware, Elementary School PTAs are collectively hosting the STEM Fair on April 30th. This Fair is being targeted for all elementary students. The event is slated for April 30 from 3 to 5 PM. Middle and high school students will be volunteering and earning community service awards.

NJPTA LeadCon is coming up this weekend. I am on a panel focused on advocacy where I will be covering the PTAC work on the bond referendum.

As always, we have some updates on the the amazing programs that the PTAs are conducting for the community.

 

CHBullock had a very successful in-person Green Ball fundraiser. They have STEM Fair, CHB Eco Fair, Teacher Appreciation Week, and the Scholastic Book Fair coming up.

 

Edgemont had a successful Talent Show where over 70 students performed. Afterschool enrichment and play practice are ongoing. STEAMPOP, their biggest fundraiser is coming up on April 29.

 

At Nishuane the PTA funded culturally responsive library books, STEAM recess programming as well as art and music for preK classes. They hosted a successful schoolwide playdate and continued after school enrichment programs. Mayfair is slated for May 13.

 

Northeast hosted Soccerthon an All-school, inclusive soccer tournament. They also conducted Liberty Science Center workshops, and talent show. Northeast’s BlueHawks Band performing at the May In Montclair Opening Ceremony at Watchung Plaza. Geography Bee, Dance, and Spring Concerts are coming up.

 

Buzz Aldrin has wrapped up their ASE programs for the year.

 

Glenfield – Congrats to Glenfield for being nominated for 7 Montclair State University Foxy Awards. This award recognizes excellence in Middle School Musicals. The Spring 2022 production of ’13 the Musical’ is what earned the nominations. The Black History Month event, Greenwood at Glenfield, was a huge success. Glenfield held a staff health and wellness day. Spring concert, Talent Show, and 8^th grade graduation are coming up.

 

 

Montclair High School is supporting junior prom, and prepping for the Freshman/Sophomore Dance in May. Teacher appreciation week, a Fun Friday, and the annual Freshman/Sophomore Dance are coming up.

 

These are just a few highlights of the activities across the schools, the actual list is much longer. Hopefully this provides us all a sense of all that is going on in our community and how active and engaged the community is. Also, as always – a big thank you to all the volunteers who put is so much time making this happen – a lot of them behind the scenes. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Tessie Thomas and I am the President of the Montclair Council of PTAs (PTAC) an elected body that represents and supports the whole community.

Let’s start with some good news tonight. The National PTA has selected the Montclair PTA Council as the winner of the 2023 Local PTA Outstanding Advocacy Award. There are 22,000 PTAs in the US and the Outstanding Local PTA Advocacy of the Year Award is awarded annually to one local, district, council or regional pta. This award is based on the work we did for the Community Investment Bond Referendum. Needless to say this is a direct outcome of the outstanding teamwork and the long hours put in by all the volunteers. Thank you. While much-needed capital investments being made in our schools is rewarding by itself, we are honored and feel privileged to win this advocacy award.

In keeping with the theme of acknowledgement and awards, here is an update on Reflections – last year we had 55 entries from 10 schools. I am happy to report that this year we had a total of 170 entries and all 11 schools participated. The total number of entries that made it from the schools to the Council were 56. And we forwarded 38 entries to the State. Thank you to Gretchen Devinsky, Yvette Frazier, Colleen Dougherty, Allison Task, Stacy Ann Greene, and Diane Tehranian for helping make this happen. A big thank you also to all the teachers, staff and parents who helped make Reflections happen this year. Our fingers are crossed for the submissions and their potential selection at the national level. Now we are working on the Reflections Celebration scheduled for Thursday, May 4.

Continuing with the theme of Awards – Josh Weston has brought back the teacher awards in memory of his wife Judy Weston. We are thrilled that the outstanding teachers will be recognized once again. As many of you know these are cash awards given to teachers as nominated and supported by parents and caregivers. MFEE is administering the awards and the Award Ceremony is being planned for Thursday, June 1.

Moving on to School Tours – Thank you to everyone who helped with the School Tours. Our estimate is more than 600 families attended the tours and more than 100 tour guides showed incoming families around the schools. As you know, in parallel every year we organize an MPS 101 Transition series for incoming families. This year the Transition to Middle School is scheduled for 7 pm (tomorrow), February 23 at Glenfield. The panel discussion by students, staff and parents from each middle school will be followed by Q&A. The MPS 101 – Transition to Elementary Schools is being planned for Thursday, March 9. That would be over Zoom and so far we have PTA Presidents and Dr. Ponds on the panel.

Next, I would like to highlight a few of the outstanding work PTAs are doing at the various schools.

 CHBullock is getting ready for their Green Ball. In addition they also have the Talent Show, Family Fun Dance, a poet artist in residence, ZuZu African Dancers and a family ice skating event coming up.

 Edgemont celebrated MLK Day, by leading an intergenerational storytelling experience with Montclair Gateway where students heard stories from seniors about the civil rights movement. They had a family night where parents got to experience Restorative Justice. Their ongoing work includes a number of Black History Month activities, talent show, launching enrichment registration and more.

 Hillside had a successful Winter session enrollment in their ASE program. Their Spring events include – Science Day, Talent show, International Night, 5th grade picnic and 5th grade yearbook.

 Nishuane successfully hosted a Caregivers Night Out to celebrate current volunteers and recruit new ones – with about 50 attendees. The Family Dance was a success and the PTA gave Valentine’s treats to the staff. Now they are preparing for Mayfair.

 Upcoming events at Northeast include – In-school Digital Citizenship seminar, Read Across America, Soccerthon, Talent Show, Geography Bee, School Dance, School Picnic, and Field Day.

 Watchung successfully conducted their Winter Concerts which were well attended. Their Black History Month celebration includes an assembly by the Pushcart Players. Other upcoming events  include ASE, Read-A-Thon, and Casino Night PTA Fundraiser.

 Buzz Aldrin held an all-school assembly/presentation of “Joe’s Violin” with a Q&A with the filmmakers and discussions in homerooms. They also held their Casino Night fundraiser. Upcoming events include ice skating party, Trivia Night and CPR classes.

Glenfield students volunteered their time to assist Hillside School coordinate the Blessing Bags collection initiative on MLK Day. The new ASE Explorers program is launched. The PTA had Valentine’s Day Cookie Party event for the staff. Upcoming events include – Ice Skating Fundraiser and Talent Show.

Renaissance PTA sponsored an author visit with NYC author Willie Mae Brown who read from her YA book based on her experiences growing up in Selma, AL, during the Civil Rights movement. Upcoming events include – Book Fair, Read Across America Day and Restorative Justice Family Night.

MHS held a Restorative Justice circle for parents to experience the practice, hosted a Chipotle fundraiser, and supported a school pep rally. For Black History Month, MHS spotlighted prominent or little-known African-Americans who have influenced MHS. The annual African-American Achievement Dinner is tomorrow February 23^rd and the entire community is invited.

I am filled with gratitude with this list of all the work that the PTA volunteers are conducting. Many a thankless hours go into making all this possible. So, it is only appropriate to celebrate this work and offer a big thank you to all.

Thank you!