Montgomery County’s children are stuck in a state of stagnation, report finds

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Gaps in local and state policies have stunted the growth of Montgomery County’s future adults over the past decade, according to a new Children First report.

Child care costs are higher than the state average, the number of uninsured children is rising and lower income families are financially worse off, creating the conditions for a generation of youth with a difficult life trajectory.

“The biggest thing is that in the last 10 years, with the exception of increasing funds to public schools and seeing the academic rebound from COVID in Montgomery County, little else has changed,” Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First, said. “The share of families who are struggling to make ends meet — the same. The share of families who are shut out of an affordable childcare system — the same.”

To discuss recommendations for a path forward, federal, state and local officials gathered at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown for a fireside chat Thursday.

“I think people need to prioritize children first in budgeting,” Cooper said. “We make a lot of decisions on how to spend tax dollars, but children are always last. Schools are last. Child care is last. There is no money for youth mental health services in any substantial way. These are indications that other things are getting a greater priority.”

Children First is a regional nonprofit that advocates on behalf of children in Philadelphia and its surrounding collar counties. Every two years, the organization releases a series of reports on each county, evaluating the development of its kids.

“A Decade of Stalled Progress: Opportunity Stunted for Children in Montgomery County” paints a grim outlook for many of the county’s 183,000 youngsters. Inflation is outpacing wage growth in Montco. According to Children First, young families in the county spend about 14% of their income on child care, nearly twice the federal recommendation.

“Just two thirds of Montgomery County’s third graders can read on grade level and only three in five eighth graders are proficient in math – both major predictors of future success,” the report said.

Low wealth school districts plagued by chronic underfunding have fared even worse, despite disproportionately higher property taxes. The report highlights Pottstown School DIstrict’s property tax rate of 80.8 mills. It generates approximately $10,882 per student.

Because of Upper Merion’s higher housing values, its school district creates $23,277 per student with a tax rate of just 11.6 mills. These inequities are illustrative of the reasons Pennsylvania’s school funding formula was deemed unconstitutional by the court system.

The Norristown Area School District received a $9.5 million boost from the state over the past year as a result of the lawsuit.

“What did it mean for Norristown? A fourth consecutive year of a 0% tax increase after raising taxes 33% the prior decade,” Superintendent Chris Dormer said.

The funding helped pay for 59 new staff positions in the previous year. However, the district still has a ways to go.

A lack of adequate funding for years has led to loads of deferred maintenance. Dormer estimated it could cost the district upwards of $330 million over the next decade.

Local officials believe the best course of action to reignite the developmental growth for Montgomery County’s kids requires a fundamental shift in priorities.

“This is about just having a real honest discussion about what’s happening as it relates to our children and their education because we all know that they’re the future generation and we need to ensure that we invest in them and we take some tangible actions so that we can combat some of the challenges that we’re up against,” Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder said.