Montclair School Upgrades Are $3.7M Under Budget, District Says

MONTCLAIR, NJ — There’s some good news when it comes to the Montclair Public School District’s ongoing $188 million series of upgrades, administrators say – they’re costing less than expected.

District administrators recently gave an update on a landmark bond referendum passed in 2022, where voters authorized a wide selection of infrastructure upgrades throughout the township. The work will be paid for with a series of bonds – and a large contribution from the state.

• Read More: Landslide Win For Montclair School Referendum
• Read More: Montclair School Bond Update: Taxpayers Will Save More Than Expected

It’s now two years later, and the 20 projects that have been awarded so far are cumulatively nearly $3.7 million under budget, business administrator Christina Hunt said.

Where will the savings go? Here’s what Superintendent Jonathan Ponds had to say in a statement released last week:

“We made a promise to the community that we would give back to the residents any savings that we could recoup. Provided this trend continues for the life of the referendum, these savings will be realized by the taxpayer, and that is a win for all.”

Montclair school officials said the largest under-budget projects are the site drainage improvement projects (53 percent) and the roof replacement projects (31 percent).

The one project that is trending towards “over-budget” are the playground replacement components (10 percent), administrators added.

Work is being planned so that no schools will have to close during construction. Administrators said that 16 of the 20 current projects will be “substantially completed” by Aug. 30.

Despite the success so far, school officials aren’t counting their chickens just yet.

“This is going to be a meticulous process toward completing projects, managing funds and seeing all aspects of every project completed,” Ponds said.

• See Related: Montclair Schools Pledge To Use Union Workers For Big Bond Projects
• See Related: Montclair Earmarks School Contracts For Minority, Women-Run Businesses

STATUS UPDATES

Montclair district administrators said that Legacy Construction Management has been providing monthly bond referendum updates at board of education meetings.

According to a statement from the district:

“At the April 17 meeting, recent project status updates included: substantial completion of the exterior stairwell for the Pre-K, continuation of the baseball field/track construction at the Aubrey Lewis Sports Complex, and completion of the turf replacement for football. There are numerous projects beginning their construction phases in July, for instance, replacement roofs at Bradford, Hillside, Glenfield, and Northeast; playgrounds at Bradford, Bullock, Edgemont, Hillside, Nishuane, and Northeast; site drainage improvements at Buzz, Hillside, Northeast and Glenfield; and Glenfield Library renovations and storefront replacement. This November and December, Montclair High School’s boiler, HVAC, electrical upgrades, and Woodman bleachers and press box begin the construction phase.”

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