On Tuesday, Montclair voters overwhelmingly approved the largest investment in its schools in the township’s history, $187.7 million, promising relief to a school system that for decades has relied on Band-Aid fixes to its aging buildings.
In unofficial results reported by the Essex County Clerk’s office at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, 11,153 voters backed the referendum question — 84.01% of the vote tallied to that point. Just 2,123 opted against the measure.
That count reflects 95.12% of Montclair districts, and includes early voting and mail-in ballots.
Turn out is similar to that of the November 2021 election, where voters also faced a referendum question — adopt an elected school board or continue with one appointed by the mayor. 13,819 Montclair residents voted on the matter — 9,757 in support and 4,062 against.
While votes from 2 of Montclair’s 41 districts have not yet been…