School board members, who are in large part responsible for the spending decisions of millions of dollars from school districts, could soon be required to undergo financial training. House Bill 312, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton and chair of the House Education Committee, which requires school board members to undergo training in financial responsibility. Legislators in the Senate Education …
Back to school: teacher raises, mental health help, funding
As First State public schools reopen next week, most students won’t see much difference in the day-to-day workings of the classroom. But there’s a lot going on in the background. Many districts will be adopting new science and math curriculums designed to help counter the state’s dismal test scores – and continue the battle against COVID-19 learning loss. More mental …
Apprenticeship programs law aims to combat teacher shortage
The most recent plan to attract teachers to Delaware schools was applauded in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday. House Bill 138, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton and chair of the House Education Committee, addresses the ongoing national teacher shortage. The legislation establishes a new tool to recruit and retain educators through an apprenticeship pilot program. This model will build …
School officers, construction needs focus of House Committee
Bills dealing with school construction, junior ROTC, Department of Education background checks and school resource officers were sent to the House ready list Wednesday by the Education Committee. House Bill 169, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton and committee chair, requires the secretary of education – currently Mark Holodick – to publish and deliver a report to the General Assembly …
School board elections: turnout low, but rising in places
Although last week’s school board elections had extremely low voter turnout, one education group points out this year’s numbers rose in many prominent districts. It has been consistently said that only about 10% of eligible voters hit the polls in school board elections. Of the 11 school districts that had races this year, just one, Delmar, hit that mark, with …
Groups support bill speeding up school board candidacy
With pressure from Delaware educational organizations, a bill that would prevent delays to school board candidate campaigns garnered support Wednesday from the Senate Education Committee. House Bill 88, sponsored by Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, would require the state’s Department of Elections to publicly list school board candidates who are waiting for their background checks to be completed as a “provisional …
Should 16-year-olds be able to vote in school board races?Â
A bill that would drop the age to vote in school board elections to 16 is drawing strong opposition from one education group. The voting age now is 18. House Bill 96, sponsored by Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow, which would lower that voting age for school board races, is set to be heard Wednesday at the 3 p.m. House Education …
Caesar Rodney wants to raise school taxes 27.7%Â
The Caesar Rodney School District wants to raise district school taxes by 27.7% over three years to help pay for utilities, maintenance, building budgets and staffing. It’s taking that request to voters in a referendum April 22. Caesar Rodney’s last referendum was in 2015. The average taxpayer, who owns a house with an assessed value of $40,300, would have their …
Bill lets districts say no to busing some charter students
A bill giving school districts power to tell charter schools to transport students living within the district passed through the House Education Committee Wednesday. House Bill 81, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton, the chair of the committee, could force charters to privately contract their own buses to bring students within a district to the schools. Rep. Rich Collins, R-Millsboro, …
Eds up: School Board candidates must file by March 3Â
Candidates have 19 days left to file to run in the May 9 school board elections, and education advocates hope to encourage more people to run in those three weeks. “There’s a lot more community members than there are elected people, so if you don’t like the direction that your community is going in, run,” said Laurisa Schutt, executive director …
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