Dear Northeast Families,

Thank you to everyone who participated in last night's PTA Budget Vote!  Because of you, we will have some amazing programming for our children, faculty and parents this year! 

We are writing today to announce that the NE PTA will be hosting an information session and vote next Wednesday, October 29 at 7:30PM on Zoom about the MPS Budget Deficit. During this meeting, the district FAQ’s will be discussed, and Dr. Putrino will speak on exactly how NE may be affected. 

Following the information session, we will take a vote of PTA members present on whether to endorse as a community a “Yes-Yes” vote on the ballot questions of the Special Election to be held on December 9th between 4pm-8pm, OR to stay neutral on the matter. 

The options available will be:

• The NE PTA supports the Montclair Board of Education ballot questions as “YES-YES" 
• The NE PTA will stay neutral on the Montclair Board of Education ballot questions. 

* See below for the ballot questions. 

The Montclair BOE Ballot Questions are as follows:

Question Number 1: 

The Montclair Board of Education seeks approval from the district’s legal voters to raise an additional $12,600,000 for the 2024-25 school year as permitted under N.J.S.A. 18A:22-40. The funds will be used to cover a deficit from the 2024-25 school year. Approval of these taxes will result in a one-time increase to the district’s tax levy.

Question Number 2: 

The Montclair Board of Education seeks approval from the district’s legal voters to raise an additional $7,600,000 for the 2025-2026 school year as permitted under N.J.S.A 18A:22-40 for various purposes, including but not limited to:

• Maintaining teachers and instructional assistants to avoid increased class sizes and program elimination
• Maintain security in schools
• Maintain facilities
• Maintain courtesy busing and protect the magnet school system
• Maintain curricular, athletics, and extracurricular activities that threaten to be eliminated
• Conduct a forensic audit of the 2024-2025 financial records and update the accounting software

These expenditures are in addition to those required to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Approval of these taxes will result in a permanent increase to the district’s tax levy.

NE PTA Voting Instructions:

• This vote will be private. No one will see your vote, outside of our VP of Communications, who will manage the tally. The information will be confidential. 
• Only current PTA members as of Tuesday, October 28th are allowed to participate. To become a PTA member, please go here. 
• If multiple members of your household are members, you will each need to log in to vote independently. 
• To be clear, this PTA vote is NOT the Special Election vote. This PTA vote has no bearing on your actual vote on Dec 9th.

 

For further inquiries, please review the Montclair School District's FAQ’s

The Special Election will take place on Tuesday, December 9, between 4:00PM - 8:00PM at your regular voting location.

 

Thank you,

The Northeast PTA Board

 

*This email/letter serves as notice of the membership meeting and vote to be held.