Delaware
Delaware unlikely to overhaul school funding formula this year
From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
This investigative report was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Many education advocates cheered the release of recommendations from a blockbuster report last year showing Delaware was underfunding high-needs students by $500 million to $1 billion.
But it is unlikely that lawmakers will dramatically overhaul state school funding this legislative session.
“I do not think in this budget year we’re going to see the kinds of investments that the report is talking about, but I do think this is a good year to start talking about it,” said Democratic state Sen. Laura Sturgeon, who chairs the Senate Education Committee. “When you’re talking about a sea change in possibly how we fund education and in how much we invest in education, that is going to take time.”
The independent report, a direct result of a settlement from a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups that alleged the state was underfunding disadvantaged public school students, was presented to the public in December. Sturgeon said the General Assembly’s next step in changing how the state funds school districts will be to hold a hearing on the report next month.
That’s not good enough for Dwayne Bensing, legal director of the ACLU of Delaware, who helped litigate the case.
He wants the legislature to add substantially more money to the state’s education budget than Gov. John Carney has proposed. The governor has recommended $10 million more in Opportunity Funding for fiscal year 2025 to go to disadvantaged students, which includes those who are low-income, have a disability or speak English as a second language. Those weighted dollars were codified into law as part of the lawsuit settlement. Carney is also pushing to increase starting teacher salaries to $60,000 and to add more than $56 million to cover an increase in the state’s student population.
Bensing said Carney’s recommended spending doesn’t provide the investment in education that the report calls for.
“It would be increasing the education funding appropriation, which the governor’s proposed budget does not do,” he said. “I think since the report, they have increased by tens of millions of dollars, but the report’s saying that what we really need is an appropriation that’s much greater than what has been proposed in past administrations and what needs to be the operating budget for our school districts moving forward.”
During the report presentation in December, Delaware Education Secretary Mark Holodick said lawmakers should think about equity in developing legislation, especially when looking at how neighboring states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, dole out money to school districts.
“We say in Delaware, ZIP codes can tell you what outcomes are going to be,” he said. “Well, the same exact thing exists in Pennsylvania.”
Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey have student-based funding formulas that provide more money for low-income students and English language learners, while Delaware has a unit-based formula. Instead of a set amount per pupil in Delaware, there’s a yearly count of students where the number of children in each building are converted into units.
Like Delaware, Pennsylvania’s funding formula was challenged by a lawsuit in 2014. In 2023, a Commonwealth court ruled that Pennsylvania’s school funding formula was unconstitutionally underfunding poorer school districts.
Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen L. Valihura announced Wednesday that she will lead a new corporate law institute at the Wilmington University Farnan School of Law.
She will step down from the bench of Delaware’s highest court in late July, after choosing not to seek reappointment at the end of her 12-year term. She revealed her plans for the next phase of her legal career in a special session of the court in Wilmington.
As well as joining the Wilmington University law school faculty, Valihura will be the founding director of the school’s new Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute. …
Wilmington Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy Tuesday night in Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood.
According to police, the shooting occurred at approximately 8:33 p.m. in the 1600 block of West 5th Street.
On their arrival at the scene, police say they located the 16-year-old with at least one gunshot wound and transported him to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
This incident remains under investigation.
Police did not share whether there have been any arrests in connection with the shooting or a possible motive.
Wilmington Police encourage anyone with information about this incident, contact Detective Justin Wilkers at (302) 576-3634. Information can also be sent to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, or Delawarecrimestoppers.com.
The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) Victim Service Unit and Youth Response Unit are available to provide information and support to victims, children, and families affected by this incident.
The Victim Service Unit can be reached at (302) 576-3622, and the Youth Response Unit can be reached at (302) 576-3183.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, D.E, – Two 17-year-olds, Cara and Nathan, were struck and killed while walking on South Dupont Highway, according to Delaware State Police. Police say the driver did not stay at the scene, but investigators have now arrested a suspect.
Community mourns teens killed on South Dupont Highway
What we know:
Delaware State Police say the crash happened around 1:10 a.m. last Sunday while Cara and Nathan were walking an e-bike in or near the left lane of southbound Dupont Parkway near Denny Lynn Drive. Police say the driver initially stopped but then left the scene.
Troopers later arrested 23-year-old Nizaiah Ellis during a traffic stop and say the car had damage consistent with the crash.
Police say the two teens were headed to Cara’s house to leave for a trip with her family later that day.
Family and friends gathered Tuesday for a memorial to remember Cara and Nathan.
“It’s still new. It comes in waves but sometimes you just feel paralyzed and numb,” said Rachel Roderick and Heather Feeley, the teens’ mothers.
“I want others to hug their babies extra tight. Take so many photos you don’t know what to do to them. (Say yes to your kids more.)” said Roderick and Feeley.
“Forgiveness would have been easier had he not left our babies. Left. So senseless,” said Cara’s mother, Heather Feeley.
Roderick said, “It’s beautiful. The love is what’s keeping us going. The support of the community.”
The teens’ lives and dreams remembered
Cara graduated high school a year early and was a student at Del Tech, hoping to become a cosmetologist.
Nathan would have been a senior in high school this fall and wanted to own a mechanics business working on boats, motorcycles and cars.
Family and friends described the teens as kind and deeply loved.
“They were so kind. They loved everyone as is displayed here today. No one was not a friend and they loved each other immensely,” said Feeley. “They both touched so many lives and I don’t even think they realized how big of an impact they left on everyone,” said Roderick.
Kaelynn Miller, one of Cara’s best friends who helped organize the memorial, said, “Kara and Nathan never deserved this. If anyone is listening to this they weren’t just a person. The people you took were some of the most genuine souls out there.”
Today would have been Cara’s 18th birthday. Parents said the two were dating at the time of their deaths.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Cara’s family and Nathan’s family.
What we don’t know:
Police have not released further details about the investigation or any potential charges for the driver.
Additional information about the ongoing case has not been provided.
The Source: Information from Delaware State Police and interviews at the memorial.
-
San Francisco, CA3 minutes agoNo tolerance for hate or crime at SF Pride this weekend, officials say
-
Dallas, TX9 minutes agoAlanna Smith injury update: Dallas Wings player in concussion protocol
-
Boston, MA18 minutes agoBoy, 13, hospitalized after being found unresponsive in swimming pool at Beverly home
-
Denver, CO24 minutes agoDenver Nuggets draft Trevon Brazile in the second round of the NBA Draft – Denver Stiffs
-
Seattle, WA31 minutes agoCouncil eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
-
San Diego, CA33 minutes agoWhat Travon Garrison brings to San Diego State’s 2027 recruiting class
-
Milwaukee, WI39 minutes agoCincinnati Reds Fall to Milwaukee Brewers, Get Swept at Home for First Time Since 2024
-
Atlanta, GA46 minutes agoGrading The Atlanta Hawks Selection of North Carolina C Henri Veesaar At Pick No. 52
