Montclair Housing Boom Collides With $18 Million School Crisis

The schools in Montclair, New Jersey, are facing a deficit of nearly $18 million. Some residents of the New York City suburb worry that leaving it to taxpayers to clean up the mess could make living there unaffordable.

Real estate prices soared in the commuter community during the pandemic, as an influx of city dwellers seeking more space and top-flight public schools took advantage of low mortgage rates. By 2024, the average monthly median sale price of a home in Montclair was just over $1 million, up by roughly 50% in five years, according to Realtor.com data.

Then, the discovery of ...