Guest Commentary: School funding remains a hot topic in Delaware
Julia Zammith is a research associate at Rodel, a statewide nonprofit that partners with policymakers, the private sector, philanthropy and practitioners to make systemic changes that can improve students’ lives.
Momentum continues to grow in Delaware for an updated school-funding system. And state officials continue to do more than is required by the high-stakes lawsuit that settled several years ago. Check out our recent blogs capturing the updates and progress underway pertaining to our funding system.
Since then, much has happened:
Budget wins. In the state budget for fiscal year 2024, Gov. John Carney’s Opportunity Funding initiative — which provides extra support for every multilingual learner or low-income student — will increase by $15 million, bringing the line item up to $53 million. This figure represents $3 million more than what is required by the funding lawsuit settlement.
The Rand Corp. was contracted to undergo three studies on how Opportunity Funds are being spent. It found that funds are being used by schools on things that researchers recommend for improving student outcomes, including increased staffing, smaller class sizes and investments in wraparound and social-emotional services focused on multilanguage learners and students from low-income backgrounds.
Additionally, funding for Delaware’s Early Childhood Assistance Program, the state-supported pre-K system, will double this upcoming fiscal year, expanding pre-K access to more families.
Legislative leadership. House Substitute 1 for House Bill 33, a reintroduction of House Substitute 1 for House Bill 144, will lower pre-K special education child-to-teacher ratios to align with K-third and fourth-12th grades, as agreed upon by the lawsuit settlement. The bill is funded in the governor’s recommended budget. HS 1 for HB 33 was passed and signed by the governor on June 22.
House Bill 62, a reintroduction of House Bill 252 from the last session, would implement rolling property reassessment every five years to ensure that property taxes (from which school taxes are determined) are up to date and accurate. HB 62 was passed June 20 and awaits action by Gov. Carney.
Events and community engagement. On March 17, the Vision Coalition of Delaware hosted an event focused on school funding with local and national experts, as well as over 100 members of the community, including nonprofit leaders, educators, students, community leaders and others.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of Delawareans conducted by the Local Journalism Initiative found that:
- The majority of respondents think that the state spends too little on improving the state’s education system (64%).
- Education and schools are considered to be a top issue for respondents. In fact, these are considered to be among the top five problems facing Delaware, with more respondents citing education and schools as a pressing problem than those who cited unemployment and personal finances, the environment, transportation and infrastructure, housing and real estate, health care and insurance, and social issues.
As the independent assessment being conducted by American Institutes for Research continues to progress, the local community continues to be engaged and eager to learn more.
