John Carlton will be back for a second term as president of the seven-member Board of Education that oversees the operations Montclair’s public schools.
Carlton, who will serve as president and Tim Barr, who will return for another term as vice president, were elected unanimously by their board colleagues during their annual reorganization meeting held at Board of Education headquarters on Monday.
Carlton, who is an architect, led the board through a contentious year during which it approved a record $109 million budget after trimming more than $1.5 million in proposed new programs and existing and proposed staff positions.
The board also grappled with several controversial issues, including efforts to increase district-wide student performance on mandated state achievement tests and closing the achievement gap for minority students.
In addition, the board brought two major new construction projects – the new Washington Street elementary school and the Woodman Field House complex – closer to completion after many delays and revisions. The Woodman Field House is scheduled to open in September, and ground is expected to be broken for the new school this summer.
Carlton said he was proud to continue to serve the district and its students, and hoped his committee appointments will continue to draw on the experience and strengths of his fellow board members.
Carlton reappointed Barr and Shelley Lombard to serve on the five-member Board of School Estimate. That body, which also includes the mayor and two Township Council members, reviews and approves the school district’s annual operating and capital budgets.
In other appointments, Shirley Grill and Barr were named to the Montclair Curriculum Committee, Ron Riddick was named the board’s representative to the Essex County School Boards Association and to the Representative Assembly of the Essex County Educational Services Commission.
Rob Kautz and Carlton will serve as liaisons to the facilities and enrollment advisory committee. Kautz was also named as the board’s legislative chairperson and as a member to the advisory board of the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence.
Assistant to the Superintendent Bruce Dabney was appointed the board’s representative to the Montclair Community Intervention Alliance, Carmen Taylor was named delegate to the New Jersey School Boards Association, while Lombard, Grill and Carlton will serve on the Personnel Committee.
Lombard and Felice Harrison will represent the board on the PTA Council, Riddick and Carlton will be members of the Special Needs Committee, and Carmen Taylor will be the delegate to the Urban School Boards Committee of the New Jersey School Boards Association.
