NEWARK, Del. – What began as a fight at a local high school earlier this month has ended with several male students being charged, some with assault.

What we know:

Police say the fight broke out between two 16-year-olds and four 17-year-olds in a hallway at Glasgow High School in Newark on January 15.

The School Resource Officer and school staff quickly broke it, and separated the students.

Two of the students were kicked during the fight. One was treated at a local hospital, while the other was evaluated by the school nurse.

They were all turned over to their guardians as police investigated.

What’s next:

On Monday, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old turned themselves in after arrest warrants were issued. They are facing felony assault charges.

All six students were issued criminal summons for offensive touching and disorderly conduct. A second 17-year-old was also charged with third-degree assault.

What we don’t know:

Police have yet to say what spurred the fight, and if the students will face any punishment from the school.

DOVER, Del. – Delaware parents are outraged and speaking out tonight after a bill to increase school resource officers statewide was killed in committee.

“These children and these students are the future of our state, and to put their safety first should be a priority,” explained Kim Petters, a Kent County mom who, for years, has advocated for increasing safety in Delaware schools.

The legislation, House Bill 32, would have established school officer units to fund school resource officers (SROs) or constables in all of Delaware’s public schools. There’s actually a number of schools across the First State that do not have an SRO on-site.

The bill’s future was left in the dark after Democrats who sit on the House Education Committee voted against it, a decision that’s left some Delaware parents like Erin Chronister shocked and appalled.

“If we had one priority, it should be making sure that our schools are secure and safe,” Chronister emphasized. “I think that it’s really important that we do take this seriously because I don’t want to be on the news saying ‘well, our lawmakers said it really wasn’t a big chance of this happening.’”

Chronister was eluding to the fear that many parents have across the First State, and the country for that matter, and that’s the potential for a mass school shooting.

After the bill was killed, many parents took to social media to express their frustration, and in doing so they made it clear that there hope was that the bill would pass and add another layer of protection for their children to help prevent such tragedies.

Among the Democrats who sit on the House Education Committee who voted against the legislation is State Rep. Claire Snyder Hall. WMDT’s Rob Petree asked her about those concerns, specifically about how parents feel the bill could help prevent mass shootings in schools.

Rob: “God forbid, what happens when someone walks into a Delaware school with a machine gun?”
Snyder Hall: “Well, that’s, uh, horrible situation if it were ever to happen. Of course, that’s a statistically low probability event, and there’s no evidence that the presence of SROs in schools have stopped mass shootings in the past. So, hopefully that won’t happen.”

Rep. Snyder Hall says she voted against the bill because of the price of it, and claimed that they could hire multiple teachers for the price of one SRO.

“The SRO bill was not voted out of committee, not because we don’t care about school safety, but because of the astronomical price tag,” Snyder Hall said. “We could hire three teachers for the price of one SRO. And there’s a lot of needs in the schools and I think that our public resources would be better used if we let educators educate and let the police do police work.”

That’s a notion Chronister took exception with.

“A constable’s salary, Appo and probably MOT, they’re about the same, it’s like 40 grand a year to start,” Chronister said. “So, I would just ask ‘like, what are we paying our teachers if we can hire two to three teachers for the salary of one constable?’ That seems a little outrageous.”

The bill’s primary sponsor, State Rep. Bryan Shupe, said he was disappointed his bill didn’t make it out of committee, but that he’s hopeful lawmakers can come together as parents continue to make their voices heard.

“I don’t think it’s the end,” Rep. Shupe said confidently. “I think we’ll all come together after parents have a say and call their representatives and their senators.”

Rep. Shupe took issue with some of the arguments that were raised as the bill was considered in committee, specifically a notion that to add more SROs in Delaware schools could create a ‘prison pipeline’ that starts in school.

“I was very disappointed that the safety of our children wasn’t a priority,” Rep. Shupe said. “What I was most disappointed at though was the calls from other representatives trying to say that SROs would create a ‘education to prison pipeline’ or suggesting that SROs would be arresting kids for doing things that kids usually do.”

While the bill may be dead this time around, Rep. Shupe and his Republican colleagues who supported it hope that a future bill will be considered with a different outcome and that the conversation continues on how to increase safety in Delaware schools.

Opening Day for the 2025 live racing season at Delaware Park has been set for May 14.

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission approved calendar for the 88th live racing season will feature 75 days with closing day on Saturday, October 11th.

Live racing will be conducted on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday weekly format for most of the 2025 meet.  Ten cards will be presented on the following Fridays: May 30th, June 6th, June 13th, July 4th, July 11th, July 18th, July 25th, August 1st, August 8th and August 15th.  Live racing is not scheduled on Thursday, May 15th, Wednesday, September 17th and Wednesday, September 24th.  Daily first race post time is set for 12:45 p.m.

Additionally, a pair of special Sunday cards will be presented in September as part of weekends featuring multiple stakes.

On September 14th, the Delaware Certified Thoroughbred Program (DCTP) will be showcased with four six furlong $100,000 races restricted to Delaware Bred or Certified horses with the First State Stakes for 2-year-olds, the Small Wonder Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, the Tax-Free Distaff for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up and the New Castle for 3-year-olds and up.   The 33rd annual Owners’ Day will be on Saturday, September 13th.

The Delaware Handicap, which had traditionally been run in early July and was recently downgraded from a Grade II to a Grade III by the American Graded Stakes Committee, will be run on September 28th.  The filly and mare classic will be run at a mile and an eighth for only the second time in race history and have a purse of $400,000.  The supporting features of the Delaware Handicap card will be the mile and an eighth $200,000 Battery Park for 3-year-olds and up and the six furlong $100,000 Wilmington for 3-year-olds and up. On Saturday, September 27th, the features races are: the mile and an eighth $150,000 Kent Stakes on the turf for 3-year-olds, the mile and an eighth $150,000 Christiana Stakes on the turf for 3-year-old fillies and the six furlong $150,000 Endine Stakes for fillies and mares.

For the first time in the history of the track, the Delaware Derby will be run. The mile and a sixteenth test with a purse of $200,000 will be run on the same card as the mile and a sixteenth Grade III $300,000 Delaware Oaks on Saturday, June 14th. The supporting features on the Delaware Derby/Oaks card are the mile and a sixteenth $150,000 Obeah Stakes for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and upward and the six furlong $100,000 Alapocas Run for 3-year-olds and upward.

Eighteen stakes worth a total of $2.925 million, including the mile and three-eighths Grade III $250,000 Robert G. Dick Memorial on the turf for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up to be run on Saturday, July 5th, are scheduled.

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