There has been a lot of reporting on the Montclair schools re-opening dispute, but that the press has neglected to ask NJEA Vice president/Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller a very important question: where does he stand on vaccinations for teachers? 

As Sunlight detailed in its recent report “CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Mayor Spiller Sides with His Union on Re-opening Montclair Schools,” Spiller told the New York Times that “vaccination remains the only way to guarantee safety.”  This happens to be precisely the NJEA’s position.  Hence Sunlight’s concerns about Spiller’s conflict of interest rearing its ugly head.

Having been called out for his conflict of interest, VP/Mayor Spiller’s now claims that it’s not his role to dictate policy to Montclair or the Montclair Education Association, but a week earlier he was stating publicly that schools should only open if they are safe and that vaccines for teachers was the “only way to guarantee safety.”  Which is it, VP/Mayor Spiller?

Because if he still stands by his position on vaccinations, then, as California Governor Gavin Newsome recently acknowledged, “If everybody has to be vaccinated, we might as well just tell people the truth: There will be no in-person instruction …”

Where do you stand on vaccinations for Montclair teachers, VP/Mayor Spiller?  Are you backing away from your previous position?  Montclair parents and teachers deserve to know.