Clerk’s Office Updates Newark School Election Results After Delay

NEWARK, NJ — The final districts in the Newark school election have been reported, and A'Dorian Murray-Thomas, Daniel Gonzalez and Crystal Williams have captured seats on the Newark Board of Education.

Newark voters also gave a thumbs-up to the budget for the Newark Public School District, according to results from the Essex County Clerk’s Office.

When polls closed on April 19, Williams, Murray-Thomas and Gonzalez held wide leads over their challengers: Thomas Luna, Maggie Freeman, Phillip Wilson and Allison K. James-Frison.

Williams, Murray-Thomas and Gonzalez ran on the "Moving Newark Schools Forward" slate, which was backed by Mayor Ras Baraka.

Dozens of districts remained unreported for days after the election. The clerk’s office filed a request in state Superior Court for a judge’s order unlocking the voting machines from those districts, NJ.com reported.

According to the clerk’s office, as of Monday, 95 of 95 districts are now reported. The totals are:

• Thomas Luna – 1,215 (9.59%)
• Maggie Freeman – 1,159 (9.15%)
• Phillip Wilson – 907 (7.16%)
• A'Dorian Murray-Thomas – 2,881 (22.74%)
• Daniel Gonzalez – 2,780 (21.95%)
• Crystal Williams – 2,945 (23.25%)
• Allison K. James-Frison – 780 (6.16%)

SCHOOL BUDGET

Newark voters were also asked to decide on the 2022-23 school year budget.

With all districts reported, the budget has passed, according to the clerk’s office. The totals are:

• YES – 3,126 (87.25%)
• NO - 457 (12.75%)

The $1.2 billion budget will raise spending by $146 million. But the local tax levy of $138 million will mean an $8.75 decrease for the average home with an assessed value of $175,000, according to figures presented by the board. Read More: No Tax Increase In Massive Newark School Budget (What To Know)

District administrators noted that Newark got more than $1 billion as part of Gov. Phil Murphy's school state aid proposal, an increase of 13.21 percent from last year. Read More: Newark Will Get More School Aid From NJ Under Murphy Plan

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. In Newark, that breakdown last year was 31.1 percent for school taxes, 53.8 percent for municipal taxes and 15.1 percent for county taxes.

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