The Board of Education’s public meetings may wind up as Montclair’s newest reality show, but if they do, it will have to be a decision made by the full seven-member board.
Schools Superintendent Frank Alvarez said the district would be happy to consider proposals to telecast live coverage of its regular board meetings on TV-34, Montclair’s local community-access cable TV channel. However, Alvarez quickly cautioned that any proposal would have to be reviewed, discussed and approved by the Board of Education.
"It’s a decision that only the board itself can make," Alvarez explained. "It is not something that can be decided by the staff."
Alvarez’s comments come a week after 2nd Ward Township Councilman Cary Africk said it was his understanding after having met with Alvarez that the board would be willing to televise athletic events and other Board of Education activities – including its meetings — on TV-34.
Earlier this year, TV-34 launched live coverage of the Township Council’s Tuesday evening meetings. This move provided local cable TV viewers with the ability to take in the council’s public sessions from the comfort of their living rooms.
To facilitate the broadcasts, the council approved improvements to the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 205 Claremont Ave. The improvements included the installation of new television lighting and wall-mounted television cameras. The township also built a broadcast center in office space located behind the Council Chambers.
TV-34 is a municipal access channel. In addition to its coverage of the Township Council sessions, TV-34 also broadcasts community-related programming, and public announcements for government, educational and nonprofit organizations.
To take advantage of the new TV system, former Montclair Mayor Ed Remsen had previously requested that the Board of Education shift its regular public meetings, which are held every other Monday evening at the board’s headquarters building at 22 Valley Road, to the Council Chambers.
Remsen’s proposal has been picked up by newly elected council member Africk and echoed by 1st Ward Councilman Rich Murnick.
However, Alvarez said the Board of Education has not had an opportunity to discuss the issue. The board is currently on its summer break. It does not have a public meeting scheduled until after Labor Day.
Alvarez said school officials would consider another of Murnick’s suggestions, which requested that the Board of School Estimate begin its budget deliberations earlier this year.
"If we take a lead early, then we won’t have to go into extra innings," Murnick said, referring to last year’s series of meetings that were extended a few days by then Mayor Remsen to allow more time to review the school district’s $102 million budget proposal.
Murnick said, "Even beginning a day earlier would be a great help."
He hopes the Board of School Estimate will have ample time to review the 2009-2010 school budget and give the public enough opportunities to make their comments on the spending plan.
Alvarez said that last year’s school budget process was more difficult for school districts throughout the state because of financial delays in Trenton. The Corzine administration was several weeks late in releasing details of its state school aid formula. Anxious local school officials were forced to wait longer than usual to calculate and present their final budget numbers.
Montclair’s five-member Board of School Estimate includes Mayor Jerry Fried, Murnick, 4th Ward Councilwoman Renée Baskerville and Board of Education members Tim Barr and Shelley Lombard. The board is the governmental body that reviews and votes final approval of the Board of Education’s budget proposal.
The Board of School Estimate begins its work each year in February with a series of budget workshops, conference meetings and public hearings leading to the budget approval vote in late March.
