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Public Education Funding Commission relaxes timeline on its awaited recommendations

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Public Education Funding Commission relaxes timeline on its awaited recommendations


The Public Education Funding Commission (PEFC) takes the pressure off its October deadline for delivering funding formula recommendations to the state.

The PEFC was created as the formal body in-charge of composing formal recommendations on 1) should the state build a new funding system from scratch or remodel the current unit count system from the 1940s, and 2) how the state go about doing either.

Consultants for the commission, Michael Griffith of the Learning Policy Institute and Sara Barzee of WestEd, suggested at the body’s first two-day meeting that it should decide which route it wants to take by Monday’s meeting, which several members pushed back on.

Commission Chair and State Sen. Laura Sturgeon (D-Brandywine) ultimately agreed that more information would be needed first before the commission could decide if it wants to recommend remodeling or rebuilding.

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“We are not gonna make that decision today. We are not gonna make that decision in 2024. That decision will come later, when it has to be– when we reach that fork, where, ‘okay, which way are we going?’” she said.

The body is set to make formal recommendations to the next governor and General Assembly by Oct. 1, 2025, which several members also raised concerns over, arguing the timeline is too rapid.

Sturgeon announced they will keep the deadline to maintain a sense of urgency, but notes the delivered recommendations do not have to be final or compiled in totality.

“By all means, if we get to final recommendations by October — I don’t want to say that we can’t because I know our children are waiting, our students need for us to move quickly and make sure that we’re funding our schools well and funding them equitably — but I don’t want anyone to feel rushed.”

Sturgeon explains recommendations made by October 2025 would at the earliest be implemented by July 2026, meaning any changes could not be made until the fiscal year 27 budget.

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And if recommendations were punted to July 2026, changes wouldn’t be made until the state budget cycles from now in FY28.

The committee began discussing various funding tactics to begin looking into over the course of its meetings, including “hold harmless” — a policy that ensures no school districts receive less funding than they already are while the state reworks or implements a new funding formula — as well as the advantages and disadvantages of reforming the current school referendum system.

The commission’s next meeting will be held publicly on November 13.





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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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