One might find it hard to believe that laundry, driver’s ed and athletic travel and equipment are considered “instructional costs” in Delaware public schools, but they are. Instruction is one of nine categories of funding for the First State’s public schools. It makes up 55.28% of the spending for the 23-24 school year, totaling $1,584,970,346, according to the Delaware State …
What happens if you’re waitlisted from school of choice?
After wading through the process of school choice, Erin Exelby found herself woken up in the middle of the night worrying what would happen if her children were waitlisted from their top selections. School districts sent parents and children emails about a month ago saying whether they were accepted, denied or waitlisted for their preferred schools. Waitlisting essentially means that …
Sussex community vocalizes needs, hope for education
A few dozen parents of students, educators and concerned community members shared their frustrations with education in Delaware and hopes for the future during a town hall Wednesday night. The few students in the crowd received applause and praise from the crowd for caring enough to be involved in changing the status quo of a system still funded by an …
Education groups costing ⅓ of state budget face JFC
Education – what one legislator called the most important investment by the state – consumed Wednesday’s Joint Finance Committee hearing for a category that makes up about one-third of the state’s $6 billion budget. Appearing in the morning before the committee that decided how and where the state’s budget will be spent was The Redding Consortium and the Wilmington Learning …
State releases online tool to help schools evaluate facilities
The Delaware Department of Education released a new tool to establish an evaluation and assessment system to determine whether a school facility is in good repair. The facility assessment tool will help school districts review and assess conditions in a standardized way. Structured like a rubric, the assessments will help identify areas in need of attention, so school facilities are …
State worker health insurance to rise 22%, add $50M cost
The state of Delaware will need at least an additional $50 million dollars in fiscal 2025 to pay for increases in the cost of employee health insurance, which is expected to see premium rises of up to 22%. Ruth Ann Miller, controller general, said the program will have a shortfall of $15 million by April 1 and will need $22 …
School choice window closes next week
Parents have eight days to submit applications if they wish to send their children to a school outside of their residential district or assigned school. Delaware is one of the 13 states in the country that allows families to apply for their children to attend any public school – district or charter – rather than sending them to the neighborhood …
Report: State should put more $$$ into schools, allot by student need
The Delaware Department of Education on Monday released a heavily anticipated independent study of Delaware’s education funding system that, among other things, the state should put more money into education, allocate money according to student need and allow districts flexibility in how that money is used. The $700,000 study by the American Institutes for Research was a part of the …
Report on school funding changes to be released Tuesday
A mounting sense of anticipation surrounds Tuesday’s release of a report making suggestions about how to improve Delaware’s school funding system to make state education more equitable. The assessment — which the state paid $700,000 for — was conducted by the national research firm American Institutes of Research. It sprange out of the settlement of a 2020 lawsuit that …
Caesar Rodney librarian named support professional of year
A paraprofessional/library specialist who opens the school library during lunches so students can have a space where they feel safe and cared for has been named Delaware’s 2024 Delaware Educational Support Professional of the Year. “The library has an open-door policy so students can take a break, check in or have someone listen to them,” said Sinead Ronan of Caesar …