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Gov.-elect Matt Meyer taps U.S. Dep. Sec. of Ed. to lead Delaware Dept. of Education

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Gov.-elect Matt Meyer taps U.S. Dep. Sec. of Ed. to lead Delaware Dept. of Education


Governor-elect Matt Meyer nominates the current U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten for Delaware’s next Secretary of Education.

Marten was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the U.S. Department of Education’s second-in-command in 2021 after serving as the superintendent of San Diego’s Unified School District for eight years, the state’s second largest school district.

“I am honored to join Governor-elect Meyer’s team and help lead Delaware’s public schools into a new era,” Marten said in a statement. “I believe deeply in the power of education to change lives, and I am committed to working with teachers, parents, students, and communities to ensure all of Delaware’s children receive a world-class education.”

She has over 15 years of experience as a classroom teacher in California and is the author of “Word Crafting: Teaching Spelling, Grades K-6,” which highlights literacy as a key to students’ success.

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Her nomination comes amid a crucial point in revamping Delaware’s public education system, which is facing record-low math and literacy proficiency rates, a teacher shortage and ongoing efforts to rework the state’s outdated education funding formula, which has not been reworked since the 1940s.

“Cindy Marten is a proven leader with a deep understanding of the challenges that students and educators face. She has spent her career working to ensure every student has the tools and resources they need to thrive,” Meyer said in a statement. “As Delaware’s next Secretary of Education, Cindy will guide our classrooms into a brighter future where equity, opportunity, and excellence are at the heart of everything we do.”

State Sen. Laura Sturgeon (D-Woodbrook), chair of the Senate Education Committee and co-chair of the Public Education Funding Commission (PEFC), is excited to have a new voice in the funding formula conversation.

She feels the looming transition to a new administration may have kept current Education Secretary Mark Holodick from being too proactive in PEFC conversations, which is currently deciding if the funding formula should be reworked or scrapped entirely.

“Knowing that this transition was coming, knowing that we were gonna have a new governor and potentially a new secretary of education, I think made it difficult for the [current] secretary of education to feel like he wanted to be too proactive and put his finger on the scale too much of what was going to happen because he didn’t know what his future held,” Sturgeon said. “But now, having someone who knows they’re gonna be in this position for the foreseeable future, gives us an opportunity to really hear her thoughts, and she can bring all her experience to bear on her opinions and comments during these these meetings, so I actually think it’s a great thing. I think her coming along might spark some new life and energy into the commission that we could use.”

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Sturgeon is equally optimistic about Marten’s background and experience, feeling that their values align on many levels.

“I love that she spent so many years as an educator at the building level, whether it was in the classroom or as a principal. I think that experience makes her exactly the kind of person we need to lead education policy,” Sturgeon added. “The fact that she comes from a big state, and then [Washington D.C.] and then tiny Delaware — I just hope that she finds working in such a small state gratifying because we all do know each other, and we can get things done because of our proximity to all the various stakeholders and all the various levels of power.”

State Rep. Kim Williams (D-Stanton), chair of the House Education Committee and co-chair of PEFC with Sturgeon, believes Delaware will be an adjustment for Marten, but she’s confident in her ability to adapt.

“It’s a challenge. It’s gonna be a challenge for anyone new, especially coming from out of state. She’s going to have to meet all the superintendents, all the charter [schools], all the stakeholders, get to know the ins and outs of government in Delaware, but if she can do that in [Washington D.C.], Delaware should probably be a little simpler to manage,” Williams said.

House Republican Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) says he is impressed with Marten’s resume and is looking forward to working with her, but questions remain about how she will work within a small state like Delaware.

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“It’ll be interesting to see what the new secretary brings in new ideas and how she she functions and gets along with our superintendents and our leaders of schools, and then also the General Assembly. So we’re open and we welcome her here and look forward to working with her, but we have a lot of questions just because of the unknown.”

Stephanie Ingram, President of the Delaware State Education Association, was able to sit down with Marten and discuss her approach and commended the high marks she earned from the National education Association and other pro-union organizations.

“Based on our conversations, I believe Deputy Secretary Marten will quickly become a strong partner for public educators as we continue working  to raise educator pay, improve school climates, reform Delaware’s antiquated and inequitable education funding formula, and ensure all students have an opportunity to succeed,” Ingram said in a statement.

Several other educational stakeholders have released statements in support of Marten’s nomination, including the Delaware Charter Schools Network (DCSN) and non-profit organization First State Educate.

“As we welcome Ms. Marten to Delaware, we hope to see continued support for charter schools as we work together to ensure all children in our state have access to the quality education they deserve. We are confident that her leadership, along with Governor-elect Meyer’s vision, will help drive the changes necessary to make education more equitable, accessible, and effective for all Delaware students. We look forward to working with Secretary Marten as we continue to build a brighter future for Delaware’s students,” a statement from DCSN reads.

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Marten must gain final approval from the Delaware Senate in a confirmation hearing later this month.

Meyer nor Marten were available for additional comment.





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Delaware

Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware

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Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware


WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — The family of Kadir Skinner is calling for criminal charges against the police officer who shot the 19-year-old after the release of officer body camera footage that attorneys say contradicts the police account of the incident.

The shooting happened June 24 after 11 p.m. at 24th and Jessup streets.

Calls grow for body cam video in deadly Wilmington police shooting

Body camera video shows an officer drawing and firing his weapon while yelling commands. In the footage, officers can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun,” as they approach Skinner, who is on the ground.

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Skinner repeatedly tells officers he is unarmed and says he cannot breathe.

“I don’t got nothing. I don’t got nothing,” Skinner says in the video.

Footage shows officers handcuffing Skinner and kneeling on him while he continues to say, “I don’t got nothing. I can’t breathe.”

Skinner was shot in the rear.

READ MORE | ‘We need answers’: Family disputes details after man killed in Wilmington police shooting

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A second body camera angle shows a crowd forming as officers instruct people to back up.

Video from a third responding officer appears to show an officer picking something up from the grass and returning toward the crowd and the officers with Skinner.

In the footage, an officer can be heard saying, “Secure the gun,” and the officer wearing the body cam says, “I have it.”

Attorneys for Skinner’s family, along with family members and community supporters, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington following the release of the video to demand justice.

“Regardless if he had a gun or not, he was still shot in the back, running from police, not having been a threat,” attorney Harry Daniels said.

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SEE ALSO | Family releases witness video after 19-year-old fatally shot by police in Wilmington

Attorney Chance Lynch said the footage showed “an unjustified killing.”

“What we saw and what we witnessed was an unjustified killing,” Lynch said.

Attorneys for the family contend the video disputes the police version of events. Wilmington police previously said Skinner came out of a home armed and waved a gun at a crowd before officers opened fire.

“The video that I saw, I didn’t see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir coming out of a residence. I did not see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir pointing a firearm at a crowd,” Lynch said.

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Attorneys and the family maintain that Skinner was running from a loose dog.

The family also announced a $25 million claim against the city of Wilmington for wrongful death. They are seeking criminal charges against the officer who shot Skinner.

The Delaware Department of Justice is investigating.

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes

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Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes


Delmarva Power objects to applying legislation to interim rate

The debate among commissioners over the breadth of their oversight on utility rates comes as the company has pushed back on the group, limiting its interim rate increase to half of its total request, even while it faced criticism from commissioners that it is “cruel” and “tone deaf” for continuing to press for rate hikes.

Delmarva Power, an investor-owned utility, serves 344,000 residential and nonresidential customers in the state. Its parent company, Exelon Corporation, is the nation’s largest regulated electric and gas utility.

Its customers pay a supply and a delivery charge for gas and electricity. The supply of energy comes from PJM Interconnection, a regional grid serving Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states. Delmarva Power profits through the distribution fee.

Delmarva Power Region President Marcus Beal said they need to file rate hike requests to recoup money it spends on improving and maintaining the infrastructure.

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“Our equipment is extremely expensive, the items that we buy, the transformers, they’re very large, complex things to build,” Beal said. “Even something as simple as a treated pole of a certain size can be very pricey, so we spend a lot of money on the grid itself.”

Under Delaware law, interim rates can be approved seven months after a rate case is filed, while the full petition is being considered by the commission. Prior to the legislation, 100% of the rate request could be implemented. The bill caps interim rates at 50% and allows 75% of the ask to go into effect after 12 months. The bill also puts limits on Delmarva Power’s infrastructure spending.

Delmarva Power spokesperson Matt Ford said the commission overstepped its authority to cut the interim rate as much as they did and the company has argued in its PSC submissions that SB 326 did not apply to the rate increase request filed in December because it had yet to be signed into law. Meyer said he signed the bill Monday.

“Delmarva Power further reserves its objections to the applicability of the legislation, should it become effective, including its impermissible retroactive application,” the utility company said in comments filed Monday afternoon with the commission.

In addition, Delmarva Power has objected to halving $23.2 million in distribution system improvement charges as part of the interim rate commissioners approved. The fee allows utility companies to recover project costs and depreciation between full rate case proceedings.

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“My suggestion is, if you don’t like it, appeal it,” Iorii said.

It’s unclear whether the utility plans to appeal the order. Ford said they were reviewing it and its implications.

Tweedie said he hopes they decide not to appeal.

“If they appeal this, what they are essentially saying is, ‘We want to extract more money from our customers than the commission intended to allow,’” he said.



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Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash

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Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash


Delaware State Police have identified the man who was struck and killed by a vehicle while lying on the roadway in Harrington, Delaware.

On Monday, July 13, 2026, Jimmy Burgess, 62, was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado driving westbound near the 1500 block of Whiteleysburg Road.

According to police, the Silverado, which was operated by a 17-year-old boy from Milton, Delaware, was unable to stop once he saw Burgess on the road, striking him. The driver of the Silverado was not injured during the crash.

Burgess was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, said police.

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The roadway was closed for approximately three hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collison Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash.

Troopers ask anyone with information about the crash contact Sergeant M. Long at (302) 698-8518.

Information can also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police, or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 847-3333

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