The recent staff turnover that has dramatically reshaped the leadership and teaching staff of Montclair’s public schools is likely to continue over the next several years as a growing number of the district’s senior staff approach retirement age.
School officials forecast that as many as 20 or more teachers with many years of experience may choose to retire each year through the next three to four years as they approach their early to mid 60s.
James Patterson, the Montclair School District’s personnel administrator, said the district currently employs 79 teachers who are already 60 years old or older, with another 103 who will reach the 60-year milestone during the next five years.
The district has a workforce of 750 certified employees, including teachers, guidance counselors and administrative staff.
The numbers emerged from an annual staff survey compiled by Patterson and used as a planning tool by members of the Board of Education. It gives district planners a long-term view and provides advance warning of any demographic trends that may be developing. Those trends often predict what needs the district may have in the future.
"We can continue to expect a large turnover of staff in the next three to five years," Patterson said.
"This is something we have to keep our eye on," Paterson said. "One of the things that we can draw from this is that we have to be an attractive place to recruit, and we have to be attractive with our recruiting packages."
Patterson said that additional teachers will be lost to opportunities in neighboring districts where several Montclair School District employees have already accepted better paying positions as teachers, guidance counselors, assistant principals and principals. Still others will not have their contracts renewed because of budget cuts or the return other teachers who were away on leaves of absence.
In the past year alone, the district lost many familiar and well-known faces. Planned retirements, job offerings in competing districts, internal promotions and newly created staff positions ushered in major changes in the administration that oversees the district’s seven elementary and three middle schools, and Montclair High School.
Several administrators announced their retirements, including Montclair High School Principal Mel Katz, Joan Moriarty, the district’s supervisor of math and science instruction, and Bradford School Principal Catherine Vitone.
Assistant MHS principals William Gibney and Peter Renwick left to take over as principals in other districts. Gibney heads Englewood High School and Renwick leads Westfield High School. Renwick was joined at Westfield by Scott White, the longtime MHS director of guidance.
The shuffle of top school officials began in May with a series of changes involving elementary school principals. The moves were prompted when Alvarez named Felice Harrison to head the newly created Office of School and Community Relations. Harrison had served as principal at Nishuane School for the past 14 years.
The Montclair experience reflects a statewide trend. Education officials in Trenton have predicted that New Jersey’s public schools could lose as many as 80,000 of its most experienced teachers to retirement during the next seven to 10 years.
However, Patterson was quick to caution that "Montclair does not have an overall problem retaining staff."
In fact, he said, the district’s retention numbers exceed the national average.
"Most of the time teachers who have spent 10 years with us will finish their careers here," he said.
He said that the number of district teachers under 40 years old has increased as many younger teachers have been hired to fill positions vacated by those retiring or moving to opportunities in other school districts.
"The ability to attract staff increases in importance in order to replace staff retiring in the next five years," he noted.
Patterson said the Montclair public schools offer many advantages to the new teacher looking to build a career with a school system. Chief among them are "a safe environment" and a workplace "where there is good communications with parents."
Patterson suggested that the Board of Education might want to consider adjustments to its current salary scale. One option the district might want to explore is to accelerate the starting salaries for new teachers because in Montclair "they are slow to get going."
He explained that teachers who leave Montclair early in their careers find that they are paid higher starting salaries in neighboring districts.
However, that pay differential diminishes the longer teachers stay in Montclair and "we catch those districts."
Overall, Patterson concluded, "Montclair is still a very attractive place to teach."
