Opinion: Delaware is up to the challenge of fixing our school funding system

Maria Matos is president and CEO of the Latin American Community Center. Rodman Ward III is president and CEO of CSC. Both are members of the Education Equity Delaware Coalition.

We are energized by the newfound momentum for fixing Delaware’s 80-year-old education funding system, which is overdue for an update.

Last month's ruling by Judge Laster is yet another call for change in the way we provide resources for our students, especially those with the greatest needs. 

Here’s why Judge Laster is right: This funding system was built for another time, decades before technology and modern approaches transformed our classrooms. It’s a system that is simply not designed to give every child a fair shot at a quality education. And it’s disconnected from the reality that low-income students — nearly 40 percent of our student population — and English learners, the fastest growing population in the state, arrive at school with a unique set of needs.

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Our system has remained largely unchanged while our student population has grown more and more diverse. These children enrich our schools and, if given a fair chance, will be productive contributors in our communities — but we need to meet them where they are.  

Delaware is just one of four remaining states that doesn’t dedicate funding to English learners or low-income students; and just one of five states that adheres to a rigid “unit count” formula, where funding is tied to school personnel. As a result, thousands of Delaware students attend schools without proper English-language instruction and without resources like mental health counselors or food closets. 

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Schools should be able to make financial decisions based on the unique needs of their students, faculty, and community — whether it’s recruiting and retaining great teachers, wraparound supports for families, or college-level courses for high-achievers.

While some patches to the system have been attempted (including toward special education students), today, after decades of incomplete fixes, our funding system is like a plumbing system that’s covered in duct tape and still flooding the basement. The system needs to be modernized from top to bottom. 

Here’s why we’ are hopeful for lasting change:

1. Delaware can do this. It will require open debate and most likely several years of steady implementation. But virtually all of our surrounding states have made transitions like this in the last decade, so we have many road maps to follow. 
2. There is increased legislative interest. Every year, we see more bills and budget requests that look to create a more equitable system. We should build upon this interest with new and returning legislators to examine how to transition, as almost every other state has, toward a more student-based system.
3. Grassroots and advocacy efforts are more vocal and more organized. Many groups have worked hard on this issue over the years, and today there is new urgency. We are both Steering Committee members of the Education Equity Delaware Coalition, a growing group of 30+ organizations representing a cross-section of education, community, nonprofit, civil rights, and business groups. As a coalition, we believe addressing the education funding system sets the foundation for providing excellent and equitable education opportunities for all Delaware students. And that to do this, we must look at the whole system—and address both the amount of education funding and how it’s allocated.
4. Our coalition, along with Governor John Carney and the state legislature, supported the passage of Senate Bill 172, which, once implemented by the Department of Education in collaboration with community stakeholders, will provide taxpayers and school leaders alike with school-level financial data in 2019. SB172 requires a statewide, common approach for districts and charters to define, collect, and reporting school-level expenditures. This increased clarity will help local and state leaders make sure we’re making the most of the funding we have.

Overall, we know that Delaware’s outdated system does not reflect the needs of individual students — specifically low-income and English learners. We look forward to working on a long-term solution to these challenges that addresses the way funds are allocated, to follow students and meet their individual needs.

This is not just about how much money we have but the way we spend it. As Judge Laster acknowledged, “For many of Delaware’s public schools, an inverse relationship exists between the number of low-income students in a school and the amount of funding that goes to the school: The more low-income students in a school, the less State funding the school receives.”

The same is true of English learner students, and it’s backwards—not the way anyone would design a school funding system.

We can do better.

Join us: be a part of the long-term solution, connect with the Education Equity Delaware coalition for ways to advocate through legislator outreach, community mobilization, and communications. Sign up at www.educationequityde.org/subscribe-to-our-newsletter