New Jersey School District Cannot Account for $20 Million in Missing Funds
Voters have two choices on how to resolve the issue: raise taxes or raise taxes.
The Montclair Public School District in New Jersey cannot account for $20 million in missing funds.
To make matters worse, local officials project a $25 million deficit “over the next four years.”
September
The crisis came to light in September when Montclair Township said it couldn’t help the school district with the $20 million deficit.
Township Manager Stephen D. Marks said, “We are not the federal government, and we cannot print money.”
How did that happen? The school district admitted the deficit “is due to years of unbudgeted for spending.”
“The deficit is the result of money that was spent and was not budgeted, and it appears to me that it’s been occurring over a couple of years,” said Interim School Business Administrator Dana Sullivan, as reported by Montclair Local. “It’s all coming crashing down.”
In other words, Montclair spent money it did not have. Why spend money you don’t have? One resident pointed to entitlement. What a shock:
One lifelong Montclair resident traced the district’s problems back to zoning changes that created a development boom and what he called a “wave of entitlement” which extended to parent demands for more “classes, clubs and amenities.” He also lamented the move from an appointed board to an elected one four years ago.
“Four years later, we’re busted and disgusted. Now we’re facing a $20 million deficit that the board wants a bailout from taxpayers, the majority of whom have no children in the school system, are senior citizens or are longtime residents desperately trying to hold on,” the resident said.
Asking for a tax increase before a full accounting of where the money had gone was like “asking a car insurance company to settle the claim before allowing the adjuster to view the damage,” he said.
Montclair already received $9.9 million from the state for the 2025-2026 school year. That’s a 6% increase from 2024-2025!
Business Administrator
Sullivan said an investigation revealed numerous unpaid invoices and bills “under the school district’s prior business administrator, Christina Hunt, and prior superintendents.”
Hunt hasn’t said a word about the deficit despite demands from parents, teachers, and taxpayers.
Montclair has some of the highest taxes in New Jersey. They want to know how their district ended up in a $20 million hole.
No one has accused Hunt “of criminal or intentional wrongdoing.”
However, a review of audits raised financial red flags from Montclair and East Orange, her most recent districts, since 2021:
According to internal audits of the Montclair Township School District, that system’s business office made transfers “without the required approval,” along with “numerous mispostings of revenues/receipts,” and several line items that were “over-expended” during Hunt’s tenure in 2023 and 2024.
Before Hunt took her post as the Business Administrator for Montclair schools, she managed the checkbook for the East Orange School District in 2021 and 2022. During Hunt’s tenure there, internal audits of the East Orange Board of Education flagged “numerous mispostings of revenues/receipts” along with budget lines that “exceeded available appropriations” and vendors paid “in excess of the bid threshold that were not approved.”
Two years after she left East Orange, that school district announced an $8 million dollar budget gap.
Hunt resigned from her position in Montclair effective July 1, 2025, just as the $20 million budget gap was discovered. Three months later, the school district filed a claim with its insurance company seeking reimbursement of more than a half million dollars, alleging “the failure of Ms. Hunt to faithfully perform and discharge her duties,” when she paid a food service vendor for losses, allegedly without seeking approval of the School Board. Hunt has not responded to questions about the alleged decision to pay that vendor without authorization.
Special Election
So now what? Neither choice is good for the taxpayers and schools.
The township has a special election on March 10, where voters can vote to raise taxes.
Thing is… neither proposal tells voters how much their taxes will go up.
Remember, Montclair has some of the highest taxes in New Jersey!
The Board of Education of the Township of Montclair in the County of Essex shall raise an additional $12,600,000 from taxes over the amount raised in the last Annual School Budget to cover a prior deficit from the 2024-2025 school year. Approval of these taxes will result in a one-time increase to the district’s tax levy. These expenditures are in addition to those required to achieve New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
Do you approve this Proposal?
Interpretive Statement
If approved by the voters, the funds will be used to pay outstanding debts and obligations due and owing from the previous school year. The tax will be non-recurring and will not be built into the base tax levy on which future years’ tax increase limits are based.
The Board of Education of the Township of Montclair in the County of Essex shall raise an additional $5,000,000 from taxes over the amount raised for the current (2025-2026) Annual School Budget for general fund operating expenses for the 2025-2026 school year. Approval of these taxes will result in a permanent increase to the district’s tax levy. These expenditures are in addition to those required to achieve New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
Do you approve this Proposal?
Interpretive Statement
If approved by the voters, the funds will be used for general fund operating expenses, including, but not limited to: reducing the impact of reductions in force among teaching staff, security staff and support staff; addressing ongoing maintenance needs; and mitigating the impact of cuts to athletics, co-curricular and extracurricular programs.
Approval of this tax levy increase will be built into the base tax levy on which future years’ tax increase limits are based.
If neither happens, the district will have to cut activities and layoff many people.
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