Montclair school referendum still undecided, but margin for passage increases

A referendum to cover a school budget deficit in Montclair has pulled ahead by 211 votes out of nearly 10,000 cast after additional vote-by-mail ballots were counted following Tuesday’s special election.

Voters supporting the raising of an additional $12.6 million is now at 5,095, with 4,884 voting no, a 51%-49% margin.

Turnout for the election is at 29.6%.

Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin said there are roughly 400 uncounted provisional ballots, and the possibility of late-arriving VBMs from the U.S. Postal Service could increase the number.  Still, there’s no assurance that all of the provisional ballots will be counted since some could be from people who voted by mail, or who aren’t eligible to vote in this election.  Provisionals are due to be counted on Monday afternoon.

But if most of the uncounted votes are tallied, about 75% must be in opposition in order to defeat the referendum.

On election night, the margin for approval of the referendum was at 80 votes.

A second ballot question to raise an additional $5 million, which would become part of a permanent increase to Montclair’s tax levy, is still trailing — but the contest has tightened considerably.  The no votes, which were ahead by a margin of 231, now sits at just 98.

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.