Augustus Mays is the vice president of partnership and engagement for EdTrust.
Every child in Delaware deserves a school with the teachers, support staff, learning materials and resources they need to succeed. But, for too long, Delaware’s school-funding system has made that harder than it should be.
For too long, the state has relied on a system that is outdated, overly complicated and too often disconnected from what students actually need. Families struggle to understand it. Districts are constrained by it. And students with the greatest needs too often have not received the investment required to thrive.
Senate Bill 302 represents an important step toward changing that.
At EdTrust, we support the direction Delaware is moving in. SB 302 would move the state closer to a funding system that starts with students and asks a simple question: What do they need to succeed? SB 302 begins to do that. It gives districts more flexibility to make decisions based on local students’ needs. It would send additional dollars to support students from low-income backgrounds and multilingual learners, two groups of students who often need more targeted academic and language support to thrive. And it reflects the work of advocates, families, educators and legislators who have pushed Delaware to take school-funding reform seriously.
That progress deserves applause. But applause cannot be the end of the conversation.
SB 302 is a strong starting point, but Delaware’s students need more than a starting point. They need a funding system that sends dollars where they are needed most, is easy for the public to understand, is transparent in how dollars are being used to support students and is backed by enough investment to make a real difference. They need state leaders to strengthen this bill and make clear that the work does not end once legislation is passed.
The formula will only work if the extra funding for students with greater needs is large enough to provide real support. The proposed weights for students from low-income backgrounds and multilingual learners would move the state in the right direction. But the question is not only whether the formula provides more funding than the current system. The question is whether it provides enough.
Some students need more than a base level of funding. A student learning English may need language services. A student experiencing homelessness may need stability and wraparound support. A student with a disability may need specialized services. A fair formula should recognize those needs. As the bill moves forward, lawmakers should make sure that the added funding for students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care is strong enough to meet their needs.
Delaware also has to confront a hard truth: Some communities can raise more local money for schools than others. When one community has a stronger property tax base than another, its schools may have access to more resources, even when students elsewhere have greater needs. The process that aims to address these differences and ensure that every student is in a well-resourced classroom is called “equalization.”
Modernizing equalization may require more time because of ongoing property reassessment issues, but it cannot be pushed to the margins. The state should make sure that school funding does not depend too heavily on the wealth of a student’s neighborhood. Communities should contribute what they can, and the state should step in more when local resources fall short.
A modern funding formula should also make it easier for families to see how public dollars are used. Transparency should be built in from the start, especially as SB 302 gives districts greater flexibility. Districts need room to respond to their students and communities, but flexibility without accountability is not a recipe for success.
Delaware should require clear public reporting about how funds are allocated and spent, including at the school level. Families and taxpayers should be able to understand how the formula works, why their districts or schools receive certain amounts of funding and how those dollars are used to improve student outcomes.
This should not be about micromanaging districts or creating reports no one reads. It should be about making sure new resources reach students and improve their experiences in school.
Even the strongest formula will fall short without adequate investment. The proposed investment is a meaningful start, but Delaware should be honest about what it will take to meet all students’ needs. Progress will not happen overnight, but the state should commit to a serious, multiyear plan that moves Delaware toward the investment students deserve.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
