No government shutdown in Delaware, but tension looms
Matthew Albright & Jessica Bies – The News Journal
July 7, 2017
Legislators cut more than $26 million from education budgets. While it was less than some previous proposals, it could have lasting repercussions.
“As a Wilmington parent who sees inequities up close on a regular basis, I have grave concerns about how these cuts are going to impact our most vulnerable students, who we know continue to get the short end of the educational stick and have little to spare,” said Elizabeth Lockman, who runs the Parent Advocacy Center for Education…
But many school advocates have been pushing for the state to invest more in schools, particularly those that serve students in poverty and with special needs. For them, a cut hurt.
“It just really troubles me that at a time when our neighboring states are increasing their investments in education and getting serious about systemic reforms around funding formulas and governance that we are still needlessly caught in a cycle of kicking that can down the road with fewer resources behind it,” Lockman said.
Lockman is a member of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, a group that pushed hard for weighted funding for at-risk schools. The group’s redistricting plan fell by the wayside last year.
“It’s frustrating, and for me personally, doesn’t encourage confidence that we are heading in the right direction,” Lockman said.
