Del. Gov. Matt Meyer pressures lawmakers to solve school funding inequities

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

In an exclusive interview with WHYY News, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said he’s ordering his secretary of education to push to implement a new public education funding system by the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

That would dramatically speed up an already delayed deadline for the Public Education Funding Commission, which is set to meet for the fifth time  Feb. 10. Education Secretary Cindy Marten, who was confirmed by the state Senate on Jan. 29, will attend the commission’s meetings for the first time.

State Sen. Laura Sturgeon chairs the 31-member commission that includes lawmakers, executive branch officials, teachers, principals, school administrators and community advocates.

The commissioners first planned to deliver recommendations by this October, but almost immediately pushed that deadline back by amending the timeline to say that preliminary recommendations would be issued this year, but final recommendations would not be due until July 2026.

To implement a new funding formula for the 2025-2026 school year,  lawmakers would need to fund it in the fiscal year 2026 state budget, which starts in July. Budget chiefs in the General Assembly have already been expressing reservations about legislation with hefty price tags due in part to uncertainty about the impact of unprecedented moves at the federal level, which has included attempts to freeze federal funding to states.

Meyer, who was a former math teacher before running for elected office, said he feels a sense of urgency about this issue.

“This is something that can drag on for years, in part because the kids I taught and many other parents, they’re not sitting in the room,” he said. “I think there’s general recognition among people that the resources are not being cut up in a way that’s fair to everyone and equitable to everyone.”