A referendum in Montclair to raise an additional $12.6 million to cover a budget deficit is too close to call, and the outcome won’t be decided tonight.
With 100% of the Election Day machine votes and most vote-by-mail ballots counted, the Yes votes lead by an extraordinarily narrow 80-vote margin, 4,783 to 4,703 (50.42% to 49.58%).
A second ballot question to raise an additional $5 million, which would become part of a permanent increase to Montclair’s tax levy, appears to have been defeated by 231 votes, 4,852 to 4,621 (51.22% to 48.78%).
There are approximately 300 provisional ballots that won’t be counted until next week, some vote-by-mail ballots from drop boxes that were deposited after the last pickup – but before 8 PM – and late-arriving mail-in ballots.
If the referendum fails, it could lead to a state takeover of the public schools in Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s hometown. During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Sherrill said she might appoint a state monitor. A rejected referendum could seek an advance of state aid, but that would require a monitor.
At stake are severe cuts in staffing and extracurricular activities.
The first ballot question is a one-time, non-recurring payment and won’t be part of the township’s future tax levy.
On December 2, 2025, Superior Court Judge Robert Gardner abruptly cancelled Montclair’s December 9 special school referendum after a resident, Carl Kraus, alleged that the wording of the ballot question was confusing. Over 1,750 votes had already been cast; those votes have been discarded.
