Today the Montclair Local has a piece on the community reaction to an op-ed posted in NJ Ed Report by Vote Montclair founder Erik D’Amato. In D’Amato’s column about the town’s decision to change from a school board appointed by the mayor to a school board elected by voters, he discusses the power of the state teacher’s union, whose president, Sean Spiller, happens to be the mayor of Montclair. In part, that power derives from a policy called “LIFO,” or “last in, first out”: When New Jersey school districts have to lay off teachers, according to LIFO, they must base the order of lay-offs by seniority, not teacher effectiveness. Currently only NJ and 13 other states in the nation maintain this policy, which, as NPR reports, forces school leaders to lay off some of their best teachers “without regard to productivity, efficiency, accountability, performance or outcomes.” Marguerite Roza, head of Georgetown’s Edunomics Lab, says that limiting the use of LIFO improves graduation rates” and protects high-poverty schools because those schools tend to have the least experienced teachers.

“Often the frustration was in watching the advancement of energetic younger teachers slowed down, or their dismissal under ‘last in first out’ rules,” D’Amato wrote in the NJER piece. “In some cases, truly toxic senior teachers were seen as untouchable, even when (sometime[s] much younger) principals tried to rein them in.”

D’Amato’s commentary was heresy for several members of Vote Montclair. For instance, Kendra Johnson, a member of Vote Montclair’s candidate advisory committee, said, “I do not share the views outlined in Erik D’Amato’s opinion piece and based on this am no longer affiliated with Vote Montclair. I  support our teachers and the public schools and have nothing but admiration for their dedication.”

Montclair Local also reports that D’Amato was referencing Dan Gill, a teacher for more than 50 years at Glenfield Middle School, when he cited a “featured debater” in a public forum “who was brought in to defend the status quo.”  Dan Gill is the father of heavy-hitter County Commissioner, Montclair Democrats Chairman, and high-profile campaign manager Brendan Gill.

A little history: Back in 2012, the New Jersey State Legislature was negotiating a teacher tenure reform bill with NJEA leaders. There were two versions: one, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Diegnan, maintained LIFO. The other, sponsored by Sen. Teresa Ruiz, didn’t. Ruiz’s bill was the one that was ultimately passed but at the last minute the LIFO change was removed as a concession to NJEA, much to the disappointment of, for instance, now-U.S. Senator Cory Booker. 

The president of the NJ School Boards Association, Larry Feinsold, explains that the practice “ties school leaders’ hands in retaining the best qualified staff members.”

Feinsold writes,

A local school board should be able to rely upon criteria such as a staff member’s teaching experience and job performance when implementing a reduction in force. It’s a sound management practice and would help ensure that difficult staffing decisions are made in our students’ best interest. If we are truthful and sincere about our primary mission to improve student achievement, we must ensure that the people and the process of instruction are top grade.  Elimination of LIFO is the next logical step in fulfilling our commitment to student achievement.

NJEA president/Montclair mayor Sean Spiller’s hold on his school district remains strong. That’s too bad for Montclair families.