Is change coming to Delaware school funding? New commission will explore options

Lawmakers will create a new commission dedicated to school funding reform in Delaware.

Passing in the final days of session last week, it's a first move for the General Assembly following the release of the long-awaited independent assessment on Delaware's education funding system last winter. That report already recommended some sizable changes.

The national firm executing the analysis not only concluded "an alarmingly clear and negative relationship exists between the percentage of low-income students served by schools and the outcomes they achieve for students," but also that the First State should update its funding formula to follow students.

Those recommendations, published in December 2023, at a glance:

• Increase overall state investment in public education

• Distribute more resources according to student need

• Implement a weighted student funding formula for the state

• Improve funding transparency

• Allow more flexibility in how districts use resources

• Regularly reassess property values

• Simplify the calculation of the local share provided to charter schools, while a formula is applied consistently to both districts and charter schools

The report marked the latest development in a 2020 settlement, after Delawareans for Educational Opportunity, the NAACP and others sued the state in 2018 for being aware of deficiencies in resources provided to lower-income students, students with disabilities and multilingual learners.

Now, this commission should continue that conversation.

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What would this look like?

This coming task force – or a "commission of legislators, educators, community leaders and other advocates" – is tasked to conduct a "comprehensive review of how public education is funded in the First State, and recommend a series of reforms to better address student need and more equitably distribute resources across districts and charter schools," explains a release from the Senate June 25, following the resolution's Senate vote.

The measure saw primary sponsors in both Senate Education Committee Chair Laura Sturgeon and House Education Committee Chair Kim Williams.

The Public Education Funding Commission" is charged with:

• Examining those recommendations set forth in a report from American Institutes of Research

• Determining which components of the public education system should be modified

• Developing a multiyear plan for implementing reforms, including the order in which changes should be made and when

• Carrying out work with 31 members, including legislators, Cabinet secretaries, parents, educators, education support professionals, special education professionals, principals, administrators, district financial officers, community organizations and advocates

• Holding its first meeting no later than Oct. 1, while issuing its first set of recommendations by Oct. 1, 2025, to be considered in the governor’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2027

“Over the last five years, the courts, independent researchers and community members have all weighed in and consistently confirmed what our public educators have been telling us for decades,” Sen. Sturgeon said in a statement after her vote. “The time has come for us to stop kicking this can down the road and start working on real systemic reforms that will improve Delaware’s schools."

But some advocates find it hard not to see this as another punt.

"Our hope is that legislators attack this with some urgency," said Mike Brickner, ACLU of Delaware's executive director. "We know what the issues are; we've had countless reports, countless task forces, countless commissions who have all pointed to these issues."

Brickner noted this is well within lawmakers' perimeters, but his team maintains concern with any delay or possible lack of progress after another year to form additional recommendations. The civil rights organization plans to keep a close eye on the commission's work, though no formal invitation has been made for ACLU-DE to serve in the body.

"We're certainly happy to help this task force in any way possible," Brickner said. "Or to help other elected officials who want to address these issues with even more speedily."

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What could be done in school funding?

Many know Delaware has an old, unit-based system for funding its schools. Try over 80 years old.

Reform here could look like updating the state's funding system to add certain "weights" – or more funding – based directly on student needs, as recommended in last year's report. That would resemble current Delaware efforts with opportunity funding, also a result of the 2018 lawsuit.

The same findings suggest that spending isn't enough. The report recommended a base funding per student around $10,000, as previously reported. Researchers also suggested officially taking into account other differences among districts, like smaller tax bases, in the state funding formula. According to the research group, such "equalization funding," has been long-due for an update, while described by district educators as “broken” and “flawed.”

All of this, and more recommendations, would be largely new for Delaware.

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Delaware has been set in its ways for decades on school funding. And though many can agree on the problems, it seems common solutions have been more difficult to come by.

ACLU-DE shared polling from late last year with Delaware Online/The News Journal that showed some 54% of Delawareans polled "strongly agree" that the state's public schools are underfunded. About 40% of the same sample said they "strongly support" increasing that funding, even if it means their taxes go up. About 34% opposed or strongly opposed the same question.

"You need a political champion," said Jennifer O’Neal Schiess, a senior partner and national policy leader with Bellwether, days before the report dropped last year. "Or a set of political champions, who have the power and the influence to move the conversation."

Back in Dover, Rep. Kim Williams thought back to other efforts in education reform coming across the floor – greater mental health supports, free school meals, a teacher pipeline and more. She believes a piece has been missing.

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"While these have been critical steps, the fundamental issue lies in how we fund public education in our state,” she said in a statement June 25. “The Public Education Funding Commission will help us create a more equitable system that truly meets the needs of all students and educators."

Got a story? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware school funding: New commission to explore changes