19 Comments

1. POSTED BY Walter Mitty  |  April 23, 2010 @ 10:45 am

   The three choices are well qualified
   That seems a little too subjective to be included in a straight news story.
   I don’t know that they are. I don’t know that they are not.
   But it will be worth watching their performance.
2. POSTED BY NoCorzine  |  April 23, 2010 @ 11:26 am

   They should be hiring three attorney’s with experience negotiating employment contracts. These Unions have dominated at the negotiating table for many years and its time for change. We need a sustainable and fair contract for the teachers and the tax payers which includes paying a portion of your health coverage and paying into a 401k type retirement plan like all of us in the private sector already do.
3. POSTED BY Conan  |  April 23, 2010 @ 11:41 am

   “Selections were based off of a Board of Education Advisory Committee…”
   Uh… maybe you want to reconstuct that particular phraseology…
4. POSTED BY Nick Danger  |  April 23, 2010 @ 1:38 pm

   Seems the mayor found three people well “inside the beltway”. I’d feel better with a different skill mix. But then no one asked me.
5. POSTED BY mhs1987  |  April 23, 2010 @ 2:49 pm

   I don’t know Kristie Cattafi or Conan for that matter. Poor grammar? Sure. But this is a community blog (and a pretty good one in my humble opinion), not the New York Times. Unless you’re the at-large editor, Conan, maybe you should keep your wise-a$$ criticism to yourself. Just a thought…
6. POSTED BY cathar  |  April 23, 2010 @ 2:54 pm

   “The three choices are well qualified” is bad enough, but the next phrase is “like Kulwin…” And Wilson “was a former member…?” Really, this is D-level writing, definitely not the path to J-school.
7. POSTED BY cathar  |  April 23, 2010 @ 2:57 pm

   And Conan has every right to complain about the writing here. Not least because this site has claimed for itself the mantle of “citizen journalism” in the past, and with such a sobriquet comes the responsibility to write at least half-well.
8. POSTED BY walleroo  |  April 23, 2010 @ 3:38 pm

   Yeah! Booyah! Or Oooorah! Or whatever-yah!
   In citizen journalism, each reader is an at-large editor.
   As such, I feel compelled to point out that this item marks a definite improvement in that there are no glaring typos.
   By walleroo, Citizen Editor-at-Large
9. POSTED BY Pork Roll  |  April 23, 2010 @ 3:39 pm

   But this is a community blog (and a pretty good one in my humble opinion), not the New York Times.
   This is not a “community blog” in the sense that it’s the result of volunteer efforts by a small group of committed citizens. This is a business, a profit-seeking enterprise built on the model of the “hyper-local blog” in the Baristas’ own words. These people ostensibly do this for a living.
   It may be unreasonable to expect well-developed grammar and syntax from those of us who merely post comments, but it is most certainly a reasonable expectation of those who, in the employ of this site, write the headlines and the stories. They hold themselves out to be professional journalists of a sort, and should hold themselves to professionally high standards in the quality of the writing they produce.
   It is not picking on them to criticize sloppy writing anymore than it would be to criticize one of our local restaurants for a poorly prepared meal. Success in business requires one to consistently uphold high standards in the product produced, whether it’s stories on a hyper-local blog, meals in a restaurants, or widgets in a widget factory.
   The Baristas would do well to accept such constructive criticism to help improve the quality of their product. And readers here shouldn’t be so quick to defend the Baristas when they sell a defective widget.
10. POSTED BY cathar  |  April 23, 2010 @ 3:44 pm

    You have to earn the right to say “ooorah” or something similar via service to your country, walleroo. I’m guessing you have not served, however.
11. POSTED BY walleroo  |  April 23, 2010 @ 3:54 pm

    I vote, cathar, I pay taxes, and I serve as a volunteer in my community. That gives me every right to be a grouch and a curmudgeon.
12. POSTED BY cathar  |  April 23, 2010 @ 3:58 pm

    Yes, walleroo, of course you’re allowed to comment. But not, I would politely suggest, to try and co-opt a unit motto as buttressment for your silliness, from a proud grouping of real men (and women of late) who’ve served their country ably. That was my point. Stop bristling so.
13. POSTED BY Conan  |  April 23, 2010 @ 4:02 pm

    “Kristie Cattafi is Editor-in-Chief of The Montclarion and will be looking for a job in journalism after graduating in May.”
    Conan is a very experienced writer, editor, communications consultant, and bon vivant. My comment about that sentence was expository, not wise-ass. If Ms. Cattafi does begin a professional journalism career, as I hope she does, she will have to deal frequently with editors who will rip her writing to shreds — sometimes because it needs it and sometimes because they want to mess with her head. After a while she may be afraid to even write her name for fear she may phrase it incorrectly. Better to learn a simple trick to better writing here than on the job: always reread what you just wrote with an eye to making it better.
    And, by the way, when you read Ms. Gallant’s writing here you are reading The New York Times. She sets a high standard and the interns and students who are breaking in on this blog can learn lots from her.
14. POSTED BY Conan  |  April 23, 2010 @ 4:20 pm

    And, I just noticed that Ms. Cattafi wrote every story on today’s version of the Daily Baristaville Blatt! Congrats, Kristie, you have just learned one of the most important truths in journalism: on beautiful, sunny Fridays, all the big-shot writers, editors, and suits on even this little daily get the hell out of the office and let the interns and newbies do all the work! Good luck in your quest for a writer’s life!
15. POSTED BY Howard Beale  |  April 23, 2010 @ 4:27 pm

    I have to agree with Walter Mitty that this story does nothing to back up the statement that they are well qualified. I don’t know any of these people, but being co-president of the PTA Council or school principal or former board member does not in and of itself mean that they are well qualified. What are their qualifications? Do any of them bring a financial background to the board? Are they all Montclair taxpayers? Do they have children in the school system? Is there any bias in favor of or against raising the BOE budget?
16. POSTED BY butterfly  |  April 23, 2010 @ 8:39 pm

    I am not impressed….
    But hey, everyone can vote yes on a x% budget increase with the rest of the crowd..
17. POSTED BY PAZ  |  April 23, 2010 @ 11:08 pm

    Sounds like the Montclair town council is letting the foxes run the chicken houses.
18. POSTED BY croiagusanam  |  April 23, 2010 @ 11:23 pm

    Howard, one cannot serve on the BOE unless one is a resident of the town so yes, they are taxpayers. Or renters (who also pay to live here). Surely you don’t think folks from Connecticut peruse the papers and say, “Hey Buffy, there’s a BOE opening in Montclair NJ! I’m throwing my chapeau in the ring!”
    I’d hope there would be no bias either way, but rather an open mind. As to children in the system, that doesn’t seem like it should be a requirement. As a matter of fact, I’d argue that it ought to be a warning flag.
    Financial background? Useful to some degree, but those folks you see walking around town with flat foreheads are all financial professionals who’ve tried to apply normal business practices to the Byzantine educational money model.
    In short, anyone can serve. Or no one should. Pick one.
19. POSTED BY butterfly  |  April 24, 2010 @ 8:41 am

    Another striking argument for an elected BOE

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