Judge cancels Montclair school election set for next week

Superior Court Judge Robert Gardner today abruptly cancelled the controversial December 9 special school referendum in Montclair, where 1,753 votes have already been cast.

The referendum had sharply divided Montclair, where the local school board had a $7 million budget hole and a possible deficit of nearly $20 million over the next two years.  Voters were asked to approve higher taxes to cover the school shortfall and avoid draconian budget cuts.

There were two questions on the ballot. One was a one-time increase of about $12.6 million to cover the current deficit; the other is a long-term tax hike to stabilize future finances.

A Montclair resident, Carl J. Kraus, filed a lawsuit on November 21, alleging that the ballot questions were confusing and the language deliberately misled voters.  Kraus and his attorney, Steve Edelstein, said the questions didn’t give voters enough information to make an informed decision.

Gardner, a former executive director of the Essex County GOP, has been sharply criticized for past election rulings.

In 2023, Gardner rejected a request for a recount in a Caldwell Borough Council election decided by four votes — an ordinary request in an extraordinarily close race where a candidate trails by just one-tenth of one percent.