Melissa Wilson, a registration administrative assistant at Smyrna School District’s Smyrna Elementary School, has been named the Delaware 2025 Educational Support Professional of the Year. “Thank you for the opportunity to represent Delaware, and I hope to make you all so proud,” she told the audience of other nominees and families at an award ceremony Monday night in Dover. This …
3 Smyrna teachers arrested on 21 charges of child abuse
Three teachers from the Smyrna School District have been arrested on charges of child abuse that includes actions like hitting students and force-feeding hot sauce and spicy snacks to a special needs student who had a known digestive disability. The Smyrna Police Department arrested 26-year-old Marrisa Johnson of Smyrna, 31-year-old Makayla Lomax of Smyrna, and 21-year-old Morgan Donahue of Clayton. …
22 votes: Smyrna School District squeezes out successful referendum
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. It came down to 22 votes, but the Smyrna School District had a successful referendum Thursday. The district’s first try at raising taxes through referendum was unsuccessful in early March. RELATED: Smyrna School District referendum fails Smyrna School District sought $4,162,286 from local revenue to build a new 600-student intermediate school …
Here’s what happens now in districts whose referendums passed
Now that Colonial, Red Clay and Brandywine have had successful referendums, residents of those school districts may be wondering when they’ll have to pony up finances and when they’ll see new facilities. Delaware school districts that have had a successful referendum typically phase their spending over three years or more. The concept of the referendum isn’t widespread nationally. Delaware is …
5 school districts to hold tax hike referenda in 2024
Five of Delaware’s 19 school districts are asking their residents to head to the polls in 2024 and vote for a local tax increase. In the First State, districts must hold referendums if they want to increase their local school tax in order to increase local revenue. They include the Brandywine, Red Clay Consolidated, Colonial, Smyrna and Appoquinimink. Schools get …
Kent County seniors picked for U.S. Senate Youth Program
Joshua Donophan wanted to join a program that sends students to the U.S. Senate for a week because he believes it’s crucial to understand how the nation’s government officials think and how the government operates. Now the Lake Forest High School senior is getting a $10,000 college scholarship to do that. Donophan and Smyrna High School senior Carl Rifino both …
Smyrna to spend $450,000 in COVID funds to light turf field
A Smyrna School District’s board decision to use the district’s $450,000 in pandemic relief and more to install lighting at its middle school’s turf field didn’t pass without debate. The proposal touched off a flurry of comments about whether that is the best use of the one-time federal money. The district has $80 million in deferred maintenance, according to Roger …
Proposed bill would allow public to see course outlines, materials
A Republican State Representative plans to file a bill in the General Assembly to give parents a better idea of what their children are being taught, and how, in Delaware schools. It comes as one Smyrna parent’s complaint about a sexually explicit required reading has been rapidly making the rounds on social media and local radio. The proposed bill, sponsored …
Moms say they will keep kids home rather than send to school masked
Some Delaware parents say they will keep their children out of classrooms rather than send them wearing a mask. Some parents who oppose Gov. John Carney’s mandate requiring school children and those in childcare to wear masks indoors say they will not send their kids back to school. “For my kid personally, it’s not good for his mental state,” said …