Montclair’s magnet school system has long been a point of pride, offering families choice while promoting racial and economic integration. Amid budget shortfalls, rising expenses, busing debates, and discussions about charter schools, the district faces difficult choices in maintaining its core values.

We had the opportunity to talk with Richard Kahlenberg, a leading scholar on school integration, economic inequality, and education policy, to discuss the future of Montclair’s magnet school system. Kahlenberg shared his insights on how integration and thoughtful school design can promote equity, social mobility, and student success, even as the district navigates budget challenges and evolving community needs.

In this week’s episode of the Montclair Pod, we explore the challenges and changes facing Montclair’s magnet schools and get Richard Kahlenberg’s take on how those decisions could impact integration and student outcomes. Listen below for the full conversation.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE INTERVIEW

• Integrating Magnet Schools: Magnet schools were created to pair specialized education with voluntary racial and economic integration.
• Is Integration Still Affordable?: Research shows integration is a smart investment, even amid declining school funding.
• Is Busing Worth the Expense?: Transportation costs enable integration and improve student outcomes despite budget pressures.
• The Most Important Investments?: Maintaining integration and student support is crucial for equity and social cohesion.
• Factors Needed for Academic Achievement: Family and school environment matter most, and integrated schools boost social mobility.
• State Monitor Possibility: Outside fiscal oversight could threaten integration, making local investment preferable.
• Charter Schools: Charter schools’ impact depends on their commitment to integration and academic success.
• Future Thinking: The Montclair BOE should clarify goals, question assumptions about cuts, and adapt programs to community needs.

integrating magnet schools

Mike asked Kahlenberg how magnet schools fit into the broader history of school integration and whether they emerged as part of desegregation efforts or evolved separately. Kahlenberg said magnet schools largely grew out of the failure of compulsory desegregation plans. In many communities, including places like Montclair, districts followed the law and attempted to desegregate schools, but families were given little say in the process. “Parents had no say in the matter,” Kahlenberg said, noting that working families often bore the brunt of forced busing while wealthier families were able to avoid it. Being told “your kids are gonna be shipped across town and you have no say in the matter didn’t go over well,” he said, “with black parents as well as with white parents.”

Kahlenberg said educators also recognized that students benefit from having options that reflect their interests and needs. “Most people understood in education that there’s a certain amount of customization that’s good,” he said, whether for a shy child or one deeply interested in science. Magnet schools, he explained, grew from that understanding, pairing specialization with a larger goal. “That here was this really moral imperative to have racially and economically integrated schools,” Kahlenberg said. “But let’s do it through choice rather than compulsion.”

Is Integration Still Affordable?

Farnoosh noted that Montclair’s magnet schools were born in the late 1970s and have long been a source of pride, offering families meaningful choice. But she raised the concern many residents now share: with federal and state funding for public schools sharply reduced over decades, including a reported 75% drop over 45 years in Montclair, can the district still afford what once felt like a luxury, particularly the busing required to move students across town?

Kahlenberg responded that research consistently shows integration is a smart investment, not a drain on classroom resources. Drawing on work he did at The Century Foundation, he said the argument that transportation money should instead go directly to classrooms misses the bigger picture. “The research suggests that actually the investment in integration is quite cost effective,” he said, noting that high school graduation rates and long-term academic outcomes deliver significant economic returns. He added that repeated efforts to make “separate but equal” work by concentrating funding in high-poverty schools have fallen short, while access to transportation allows students to learn from peers of different backgrounds and succeed. Pointing to Montclair’s overall wealth, including a median public school parent income of $218,000, Kahlenberg warned that if a community with those resources concludes it cannot afford integration, “then our country’s in real trouble.”

Why Busing Matters for Equity

The conversations shifts to the issue of transportation costs, citing conversations with a neighboring district’s business administrator who described limited flexibility around busing contracts. With few vendors available and a shortage of trained drivers and managers, Farnoosh said, districts often feel they have no choice but to absorb rising costs, even as budgets tighten.

Kahlenberg said he does not claim expertise in the mechanics of busing systems but urged putting the numbers in context. He noted that Montclair’s roughly $10 million transportation cost represents about 6.8% of a $147 million budget. While significant, he said, national research shows the educational and economic benefits of integration make it “money well spent.” Kahlenberg acknowledged there may be efficiencies to find, but warned against losing sight of the bigger picture. He added that the need for busing stems from segregated housing patterns and pointed to inclusionary zoning policies, such as those in Montgomery County, Maryland, that have been shown to improve outcomes for low-income students more effectively than simply increasing spending in high-poverty schools. Beyond academics, he said, integration benefits all students by preparing them to live and work in a diverse society, adding that Montclair is already “way ahead of most communities” and should not abandon that commitment over budget pressures.

Where to Spend Wisely

Farnoosh asked Kahlenberg how districts should think about classroom and building investments at a time when Montclair is facing painful cuts, including the loss of teachers, aides and a high school librarian, and nearly eliminating school nurses before restoring them. With more than 100 staff laid off, she said, the district is making difficult choices about who stays and who goes, and students inevitably feel the impact.

Kahlenberg acknowledged those concerns but cautioned against viewing integration as expendable during a budget crisis. He said decades of research show integration is among the most effective ways to promote academic achievement and social mobility, and argued that public schools serve a broader purpose beyond test scores. When schools become identified by race or income, he said, it undercuts the democratic idea that all students are equal and belong to a shared civic community. While he said he would prefer a system that did not require transportation spending, he emphasized that addressing segregation requires investment to bring students together.

Mike raised the persistent achievement gap in Montclair, noting that while elementary schools are integrated and often successful, disparities between Black and white students and between wealthier and lower-income students remain. He pointed to the loss of robust after-school enrichment programs and transportation that once supported working-class families, and described how uneven access to time, resources and support continues to shape outcomes. Kahlenberg said he has heard similar concerns in many communities and related them to his own experience growing up in Montgomery County, Maryland, adding that integration and targeted student supports should be viewed as parallel priorities, not competing ones.

What Drives Success

Kahlenberg said decades of national research point to two primary predictors of academic achievement: family background and the school environment, with school integration consistently showing positive effects for students. He emphasized that integration is not a cure-all, particularly in a community like Montclair with significant wealth disparities. Achievement gaps between rich and poor students, and between Black and white students, are likely to persist, he said, given the uneven access some families have to resources outside of school.

The real question, Kahlenberg said, is what happens under the alternative. He argued that desegregating schools and redirecting transportation funds into neighborhood-based enrichment has been tried across the country, often with disappointing results. National data, including results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, show that low-income students in economically mixed schools perform up to 2 years ahead in fourth-grade math compared with peers in high-poverty schools. If evidence showed that segregated neighborhood schools better served low-income students and students of color, Kahlenberg said he would support that approach. But after decades of attempts in highly segregated districts such as Washington, D.C., and Detroit, he said the evidence points in the opposite direction. That research, he said, is why social mobility remains his primary motivation for supporting integration, alongside the broader goal of social cohesion.

State Intervention in Montclair

Concerns are growing in Montclair over the possibility of a state monitor stepping in as the district grapples with its fiscal crisis. With a March 10 referendum approaching, voters will decide whether to raise taxes to close the deficit or take an advance on a state loan that would be repaid over 10 years and come with a fiscal monitor who would have veto power over the Board of Education. For many residents, the fear is that cost-cutting decisions imposed from outside could threaten the district’s long-standing commitment to integration, particularly busing.

Kahlenberg said he is not aware of any national examples where a wealthy community like Montclair has faced a state takeover, calling the situation “astonishing.” While state monitors and receiverships are common in impoverished districts, he said, they rarely lead to improved academic outcomes and often fail to strengthen communities. Kahlenberg said he has no specific insight into Montclair’s fiscal management, but described the scenario as highly atypical for an upper-middle-class district. Drawing on broader experience, he cautioned that state takeovers tend to be disruptive and urged that, if possible, a community with Montclair’s resources should invest in preserving a school system that has long held a strong national reputation rather than risk outside control.

Weighing Charter Options

As Montclair grapples with its fiscal challenges, conversations about charter schools have started surfacing in the community, with some residents seeing them as a potential “escape hatch.” Kahlenberg said charter schools are not a monolith and that some consciously integrate while others reinforce segregation. He emphasized the importance of evaluating the track record of any organization seeking to open a school in Montclair, particularly their commitment to integration and academic achievement.

Kahlenberg also highlighted ways districts can innovate within the existing public system. He suggested using enrollment data to identify which programs are most popular and expanding them while rethinking or consolidating under-enrolled schools. He cited examples from districts like Charlotte-Mecklenburg in North Carolina, which consider both neighborhood and individual family socioeconomic status when designing magnet programs, and in Chicago, where relying solely on neighborhood data sometimes misrepresents who qualifies for programs. Kahlenberg said these approaches help districts offer desirable, high-quality programs while maintaining integration goals, noting that thoughtful adaptation can keep public schools competitive and appealing without sacrificing equity.

Questions for the BOE

Kahlenberg offered three “back-of-the-napkin” questions for the Board of Education to consider as they navigate the future of Montclair’s magnet system under tight financial constraints. First, he said, the board should clarify the program’s overarching goals: “How important is it to have social cohesion and to have the democratic values of the community represented through integration? Is that something you’re willing to sacrifice or not?” Second, he urged them to critically examine claims that cutting integration efforts could work, asking where supporters point to successful examples of segregated schools—“I don’t see a lot of good examples out there,” he said. Third, he recommended focusing on improving the existing system by aligning offerings with community needs, including polling parents to ensure current magnet options reflect what families want rather than simply maintaining tradition.

On broader efficiency challenges, Kahlenberg acknowledged that rising costs, healthcare, and union rules create financial strain, but emphasized that political choices often play a larger role. Drawing on his work at the Progressive Policy Institute, he said governments and school districts have a responsibility to find ways to operate more efficiently while advancing equity. “If you care about the role of government, then it’s enormously important to invest in that,” he said, noting that thoughtful planning and attention to models of efficient practice can help districts maintain programs like Montclair’s magnet system without sacrificing core values.