By the time your next column appears on September 8, our town’s 2022-23 school year will have begun. Summer went fast, right?

Not sure how speedy Donna Summer was when that singer jogged.

In MacArthur Park, I suppose. Your thoughts as our children prepare to return to classrooms?

I think of who their teachers will be, Genesis forms, school-supply runs to Montclair Stationery, school-lunch balances from last spring, and whether “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” is about a teacher or about not having enough lunch money to purchase cookies.

Don’t forget preseason sports practices.

Impossible to do so; my 10th-grade daughter is on Montclair High’s gymnastics team. What do a good gymnast and a good helicopter pilot have in common? They both stick the landing.

Spare us the dumb riddles. Speaking of school matters, our district is seeking to hire an Executive Director of Communications and Community Engagement. Comment?

Many Montclair education officials could do better with communication and transparency, but the latter skill would be improved by reading more ghost stories.

Seriously, don’t you think those officials should do their own communicating rather than a new person doing some of it for them?

Yup. And don’t forget that a number of teachers and paras were laid off for budget reasons, so adding a high-paying communications person is rather insulting. In fact, it’s worse optics than an eye doctor giving patients a Rolodex when they ask for contacts.

I should’ve flung my contact lenses away like mini-Frisbees to avoid reading that line. In other news, Montclair’s library is adding outdoor seating and expanded wifi access. Nice?

Nice! Students and parents sitting outside can access Genesis on their laptops. Or visit YouTube to watch 1970s performances by prog-rock bands other than Genesis: Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, King Crimson, Renaissance, Emerson, Lake & Palmer…

Can a Renaissance student enjoy the music of Renaissance, or is that too predictable?

Makes more sense than listening to Emerson, Lake & Glenfield.

While we’re talking music, isn’t it great that Outpost in the Burbs will be celebrating its 35th anniversary of bringing great concerts to our town?

It is indeed! 1987 was also the year U2 released the song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Not a problem for Montclair students — they’ll have found the first day of school on September 6.

Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Baristanet.

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