The Montgomery News | October 3, 2025
Six candidates are running for three open seats on the Montgomery School Board, following a year of long, heated discussions at board meetings, some lasting until midnight. The current board of nine members could be described as fractured on multiple important issues.
The local chapter of the League of Women Voters and The Montgomery News invited all school board candidates to a participate a candidates' forum during the month of October - as has been a common local practice. Three candidates said yes (Julius Nunez, Francine Pfeffer, and Katheryn Worland of the Excellence in Education Slate). Two did not respond (Jiying “Peter” Li and Joanna Filak), and Ania Wolecka-Jernigan responded no. Incumbent Michelle Dowling will not seek another term.
The candidates' answers in this "In Their Own Words" series are unedited. The Montgomery News is donating this space.
Pfeffer serves as associate director of Government Relations at the New Jersey Education Association. She is a lobbyist, and has been since 2007. Prior to that, she was a history teacher and school librarian, working in Brick and the Middlesex County Magnet Schools. She lives in Skillman with her son and husband.
Q: Do you believe in an educational “voucher system” that would allow parents to take taxpayer money and divert it to pay for private school tuition costs? Why?
A: I do not. Public schools are funded with taxpayer money for the public good. Parents/guardians are free to send their children to private school, but public funds should not be used for private schools. New Jersey already provides significant support to private schools, including funding for transportation, nursing services, technology, security, remedial education, and textbooks. Every dollar that New Jersey gives to parents to pay for private school tuition has to be made up somewhere else in the budget, resulting in less available funding for public schools.
Q: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement, why or why not: “The responsibility of School Board members in New Jersey is confined to policy making, planning and appraisal, and helping to frame policies and plans after consultation with those affected by them. A board member’s responsibility is not to administer the schools, but to see that they are well run.”
A: I strongly agree with this statement The role of a board member is to create a vision and goals for the school, not to run the schools. The administration and other school staff run the schools on a day-to-day basis. They are skilled, trained, individuals with expertise, who continue to enhance their knowledge with ongoing professional development.
Q: Who do you believe should be determining which books are in the school library system and in the curriculum and why?
A: Educators are skilled professionals who should be determining what books and materials are used in their school and for what purpose. Teachers and supervisors who write the curriculum decide which materials to include to enhance that curriculum and ensure it is meeting the New Jersey learning standards.
School librarians are trained in collection development and understand which books are developmentally appropriate for students of different grades and reading abilities. They should be making the decisions for their school library.
Q: Montgomery’s population includes a large percentage of immigrants. What is the role of schools when interacting with ICE in your community?
A: The school’s job is to ensure that all students can attend public school safely and that their rights are not violated.
The NJ Department of Education issued guidance on January 22, 2025, about the role of the school when interacting with ICE. (www.nj.gov/education/security/studentrights/)
As per that guidance, schools need to ensure ICE agents who come to a school have an appropriate judicial warrant. Without this warrant, ICE agents should not be allowed to enter. In order to protect students and staff, the school district needs to train the staff appropriately.
Q: Do you support the implementation of policy 5756? If elected, will you seek to rescind or remove the policy and why or why not? If the policy is removed or rescinded in your district, what is your alternative plan dealing with the issues this policy covers?
A: While this policy is controversial, I support it. Instead of reading the full policy, which is about enforcing the NJ Law against Discrimination (NJ LAD) and respecting gender identity and expression, we’ve reduced the policy to parental notification and mislabeled it as “schools aren’t telling parents their child is transgender.”
The truth is that school staff know that, for most students, it’s in the students’ best interest to tell their parents. School staff usually work successfully with students to disclose their gender identify to their parents. In the rare instances this does not happen, it is the decision of professionals who know the students and their family dynamic and conclude that telling the parents would result in an unsafe situation for the child.
If this policy were to be rescinded, the district would need a replacement policy to ensure the district complies with NJ LAD. At that time, we would need to draft a new policy that would be in compliance with the law and any court decisions.
Q: What issues, if any, do you believe our district needs to address in its academic program and vocational and fine arts offerings? What changes would you recommend?
A: The district has a robust selection of course offerings at all levels and excellent practical and fine arts programs. However, we do need more sections of some courses so that students can take the classes they want. While adding additional sections and courses seems straightforward, it can have staffing and budget implications – factors to take into account.
I know there are some concerns around the rigor of our course offerings, but the truth is, there are already ample opportunities for diversified instruction to ensure all students are being taught at the right level. The high school has various course levels for the same subjects, and at the elementary and middle schools, staff differentiate instruction and scaffold learning within the classroom. (Middle school math courses are tracked based on an established rubric.)
While some people believe we need to provide more rigorous and advanced coursework for our students at earlier grades, the current approach ensures all students’ needs are being met and instruction is developmentally appropriate. ■
Two incumbents, Joanna Filak and Ania Wolecka-Jernigan, are seeking reelection. They are running on a slate with Montgomery resident Jiying "Peter" Li. This election will have serious consequences on the future of the school district, so it is important to vote. >> Click Here to Review their responses. ■
