Landslide Win For Montclair School Referendum, Unofficial Results Show

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair’s $188 million school bond proposal has passed by a landslide, according to unofficial election results. But the groundwork for the “once-in-a-generation referendum” was actually laid during last year’s election, a school administrator says.

On Tuesday, Montclair voters went to the polls to cast ballots for local, county and Congress candidates. Residents also voted for a school referendum, deciding whether to approve a $188 million bond to pay for a series of infrastructure upgrades throughout the district.

With just three districts unreported as of Wednesday morning, the referendum has seen overwhelming support in Montclair, passing by nearly a 5-to-1 margin, unofficial results from the county clerk’s office show. Read More: Montclair 2022 Election Results: School Board, Referendum (Updated)

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Montclair school administrators said the referendum was a “historic show of unity” for the township.

“This is thrilling news for Montclair and its families,” Board of Education President Latifah Jannah said.

“Voters decided last year that they and not town officials should have the final say on school bond proposals,” Jannah said, referencing a referendum in 2021 that made changes to Montclair’s system of government, allowing voters to elect school board members instead of the mayor. Read More: Montclair School Board Referendum: What Comes Next?

“Today they exercised that new right by overwhelmingly supporting a once-in-a-generation referendum that will literally transform Montclair public schools,” Jannah said on election night. “It’s a wonderful moment for the town, and I want to thank the state for its generous support.”

Superintendent Jonathan Ponds also said the vote is a win for the township.

“The town’s decisive commitment to the success of students is tremendously gratifying,” Ponds said. “We know high-quality learning spaces boost academic performance and convey to young people that we value their well-being and their future. Bright new classrooms and state-of-the-art learning technology will strengthen school climates and provide our educators with the educational tools they and our students have long deserved.”

The referendum includes 25 separate construction projects across the district, including HVAC upgrades totaling $75.7 million — currently only one school is air-conditioned and the COVID epidemic exposed vulnerabilities in schools’ air-quality systems — and nearly $27 million to upgrade classrooms.

Each of Montclair’s public schools will receive needed improvements, with several of the oldest buildings — including Hillside ($25.5 million), Glenfield Middle School ($24.7 million), and Montclair High School ($48.5 million) — requiring the most extensive repairs (see pie charts below). The township’s 11 schools were built 99 years ago on average.

The state of New Jersey supported the project by agreeing to cover 31 percent — $58 million — of the total cost of the plan in the form of debt service payments. Read More: NJ Agrees To Pay A Third Of Montclair's Huge School Upgrade Project

“The community showed today it is united in support of the bond plan and we’re focused on providing the level of oversight and accountability voters expect,” said Eric Scherzer, chair of the school board’s Finance & Facilities Committee, which led the bond effort.

Montclair Councilman Peter Yacobellis, who has supported the proposal from its onset, also praised the apparent Election Day victory. He wrote:

“Tonight, Montclair voted overwhelmingly in favor of making a once-in-a-generation investment in Montclair Public Schools -- something put off for way too long. I hope that students, parents, teachers, and faculty see this as the community having your backs - because we do! For too long Montclair Public Schools have been held back by political inertia -- a force I've been fighting since I took office. Now this vote, like last year’s switch to an elected school board, is another clear indication that parents want to control the fate of their children’s education in this town and have a district that is accountable directly to them. I especially want to thank taxpayers who, like me, don’t have kids in the school system and decided that we are much stronger as a town when we’re all in this together. I applaud the courage of the Montclair Board of Education for pushing for this bond and all of the work the PTA Council did to turn out the vote and educate voters. As we all know well – now comes the hard part: planning, oversight, and execution.”

“Like with last year’s switch to an elected school board, this is another crystal-clear indication that Montclair voters are taking the fate of the district into their own hands,” Yacobellis said.

“It’s also a significant statement of values in terms of who we are as a community,” the councilman added. “This margin of victory shows that the overwhelming majority of voters — whether their family is in the public school system or not, believe in public education.”

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