Montgomery Montessori School suddenly shut down, families scramble after fire

More than 100 families in Montgomery County are shocked and frustrated after the state of Pennsylvania shut down a preschool.

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The closure is leaving parents scrambling for childcare and exposes, what some lawmakers said, is a mayor flaw in the system.

Montgomery Montessori School in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, looks intact from the outside, but the inside was torn apart by a fire on Nov. 14, 2024, followed by flooding from a storm.

"My oldest son was actually eating lunch right underneath where the fire started," parent CJ LeConey said. "The staff had gotten them all out in, I think, under three minutes."

Despite losing their building, the facility found a temporary home a few miles away at Bryn Athyn College where they have been operating ever since.

Karen Slifer, Director of Montgomery Montessori School, said she notified police, the county and other agencies of the move, but admits she made a mistake and did not tell the state.

"They said I was operating an illegal childcare facility," Slifer said.

She explained that she was told to mail back her certificate of compliance and her license was revoked.

The Department of Human Services sent a statement saying that it never revoked the license or shut down the school, but it did issue a cease and desist and wrote that the school can continue to operate while it makes an appeal.

"I feel like some leniency would have been the right way to go. Perhaps an extension, maybe granting, just again, an exception to what happened, you know, while she does the paperwork to make sure the kids can still go to school because it's creating, really, some incredible hardships, " LeConey said.

Since the closure, parents told NBC10 that they have taken vacation time as they search for alternatives because this whole process is disrupting their lives.

"My mother-in-law works full time, my husband works full time, I work full time, and my mother is disabled and that's all we have. I really need somebody that I can depend on," mother Caroline Nino told NBC10.

State lawmakers said they have stepped in and have asked DHS to understand that this is an emergency situation.

Pennsylvania State Senator Maria Collett said that her office was able to get the school's director and staff to do a training session that is set for Tuesday, May 13.

Collett also said that her office is working with the school and parents to get answers. She explained that she thinks change needs to happen with the system as red tape and communication issues have become obvious.

Slifer said she was told that if she chose to open the school at this point, it would be with no insurance.