A superior court judge in Essex County has ruled that Montclair’s referendum on a school funding plan cannot move forward because of ballot questions he described as “convoluted.”
The special election was scheduled for Dec. 9, and residents were going to be asked to answer two questions. Both would have raised local taxes by millions of dollars and one of those options would put in place a state monitor to oversee the Montclair School District’s finances.
The questions were challenged by two lawsuits brought by township residents, and judge Robert Gardner decided that the wording of the questions was not sufficiently clear because they would have asked residents to approve the referendum without specifically asking for approval of an increased tax levy.
Montclair school officials have warned more than 100 teachers and staff could be laid off unless the district gets additional funding. The next possible election date for a reworded referendum is March.
