Erin Lanahan 
Montclair Public Schools is facing a $20 million budget shortfall. The Montclair Girl previously reported on the timeline of the deficit, from when it was discovered to how the school district and town are planning to correct it. As the Montclair community is getting ready for an emergency vote on how taxpayers will cover the gap in the budget, a lawsuit was filed ahead of the scheduled vote for March 10th, 2026. It claims the district already used its one allotted vote, there’s been illegal campaigning, and the new ballot questions are still confusing. Here’s a look at the upcoming vote for the Montclair Public Schools budget and the events that led up to the referendum vote.
The Background
Under the previous Business Administrator, the Montclair Public Schools district ran up millions in unpaid bills, and the board kept approving finances between 2024 and 2025, saying everything was fine. The previous Business Administrator resigned in June 2025. The new Superintendent and Interim Business Administrator started in July 2025 and discovered $11 million in unpaid bills and past-due notices that hadn’t been disclosed. By September 2025, the deficit had grown to $19.6 million.
In an effort to combat the deficit, the district laid off over 100 teachers and cut 30+ student clubs. A December 2025 referendum vote to raise taxes and address the deficit was scheduled then canceled by a judge who ruled the ballot questions were too confusing. The new referendum is scheduled for March 10, 2026.
Check out the full timeline of the Montclair Public Schools deficit here.
The March 10th Vote
The school referendum vote scheduled for March 10th aims to fix the budget gap. It asks voters to approve the following:
- Question 1: $12.6 million (one-time, non-recurring) to pay prior-year outstanding debts/obligations.
- Question 2: $5 million (permanent levy increase) for operating expenses, including mitigating cuts and ongoing maintenance (previously it was $7.6 million.
The forensic audit to figure out what went wrong is no longer on the ballot. The district says it will include it in the 2026-2027 budget instead.
If Question 1 passes, the 2024-2025 deficit will be covered by a one-time tax increase, and the state aid advance already taken out to cover it will be repaid in full. If it fails, the district will keep the 10-year $12.6 million state aid advance and will trigger the mandatory appointment of a state monitor.
If Question 2 passes, the district will be able to fully fund the spring semester of the 2025-2026 school year and have an additional $5 million in funding for the future. If it fails, the district will have to choose between implementing immediate cost cuts to avoid a state monitor or requesting a $5 million state advance to fund the 2025-2026 spring semester without mid-year reductions. The state may approve a full, partial, or no amount of the requested advance. Either way, accepting a state advance will trigger the mandatory appointment of a state monitor.
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Each question needs a simple majority, more than 50%, to pass. If, for some reason, there is an exact tie, the Question fails and is treated as defeated. If only one Question passes and the other fails, it could create a messy situation. For example, if only Question 1 passes, the district won’t be able to operate the current year’s budget, and a State fiscal monitor will need to intervene. If only Question 2 passes, the district won’t be able to pay old debts, so financial instability will continue, and a State fiscal monitor will be brought in. The vote asks Montclair residents if they want to pay higher taxes to maintain some local control and restore some services, or accept state intervention and likely more cuts.
Montclair community members put together a website that breaks down the cost per household that each outcome could have on local families. The goal of the website is to present non-biased facts about the upcoming vote in Montclair.
New Jersey has strict limits on how much school districts can raise property taxes each year, typically around 2%. Montclair Public Schools already maxed out the normal tax increase when the budget was approved in May 2025, and the normal budget process won’t generate enough revenue to support the district because of state tax cap limits. To raise taxes above that cap, the district needs voter approval through this special referendum.
The February Lawsuit
On February 19th, local activist David Herron filed another lawsuit trying to stop the vote scheduled for March 10th, per Montclair Local. Herron previously filed a lawsuit against the school district in December 2025 seeking to invalidate the referendum questions.
The lawsuit claims the school district already used its one referendum vote per year, the district participated in illegal campaigning, and the new ballot questions remain confusing.
When it comes to school referendum votes, New Jersey State law only allows one per year. Even though the December 9th vote was canceled, the district had paid between $50,000 to $55,000 for it, and over 1,350 mail-in ballots were already received before it was canceled. The lawsuit argues that since the district paid for it, it counts as its one election for the year.
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It also argues the district broke rules by campaigning for a “yes” vote. School principals reportedly sent letters out in the fall of 2025 telling parents about the deficit and cuts during school hours, using school facilities, but those letters didn’t mention that it would increase taxes or by how much.
The lawsuit also argues the ballot questions are still confusing. It says the questions don’t tell voters that if the referendum fails, the state will assign a fiscal monitor to take over the district’s finances.
The Board of Education attorney told Montclair Local on Friday, February 20th, he wasn’t even aware of the complaint yet or if the Board had been officially served.
This lawsuit was filed with ballots already mailed out and less than three weeks before the March 10th vote.
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