Newark 2022 School Election: See Results For Board, Budget (Updated)

NEWARK, NJ — Newark voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in their local school election.

There were three seats on the Newark Board Of Education at stake. In addition, voters were asked to approve or reject the Newark Public School District’s proposed budget.

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With 80 of 95 districts reported, here are the early, unofficial results, according to the Essex County Clerk’s Office.

SCHOOL BOARD

Voters chose between seven candidates for three seats on the board of education.

Incumbent board members A'Dorian Murray-Thomas and Daniel Gonzalez ran on the "Moving Newark Schools Forward" slate with Crystal Williams, which was backed by Mayor Ras Baraka. They faced challenges from Thomas Luna, Maggie Freeman, Phillip Wilson and Allison K. James-Frison.

As of 10:04 p.m. on Tuesday, Williams, Murray-Thomas and Gonzalez held wide leads over the challengers. The unofficial results were:

• Thomas Luna – 1,087 (9.68%)
• Maggie Freeman – 1,027 (9.14%)
• Phillip Wilson – 807 (7.18%)
• A'Dorian Murray-Thomas – 2,559 (22.78%)
• Daniel Gonzalez – 2,475 (22.03%)
• Crystal Williams – 2,600 (23.14%)
• Allison K. James-Frison – 679 (6.04%)

SCHOOL BUDGET

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

As of 10:04 p.m. on Tuesday, the unofficial results showed a massive lead in favor of the budget:

• YES – 2,792 (87.01%)
• NO - 417 (12.99%)

If it passes, 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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