The Social Policy Committee of the League of Women Voters of Sussex County held a public forum on 9/25/19 entitled, The Funding of Public Education in Delaware, Part 1.  The event, which was cosponsored by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), was held in Sussex County Council Chambers in Georgetown.

The panel of experts was comprised of:

• Dr. Susan Bunting, Delaware’s Secretary of Education and a long-time Sussex County educator, was named Indian River’s Teacher of the Year in 1985 and Delaware’s Superintendent of the Year in 2012. She was superintendent of the Indian River School District for more than a decade prior to joining Governor John Carney’s Cabinet in January 2017.
• Dr. Chuck Longfellow, Associate Secretary for Operations.  Dr. Longfellow joined the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) leadership team in August 2018.  His areas of emphasis include Finance, Technology, Charter Schools, Transportation, and Capital Programs. 
• Dr. Kevin Carson, Senior Fellow at the University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration, was formerly Director of Administrative Services for the Seaford School District. He has also served as Executive Director of the Delaware Association of School Administrators where he was responsible for legislative advocacy on behalf of Delaware School Districts.
• Representative Ruth Briggs King,  District 37, is a member of the Delaware General Assembly’s Committee on Education and the Education Funding Taskforce.  She was formerly a teacher at Kent County Vocational Technical High School, where she was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1991.

Some of the issues addressed by the panelists included:

• How do funds flow into your local schools?
• How are tax dollars distributed to fund public education in Delaware?
• What are school referendums and why are they necessary?
• What issues regarding educational funding are before the state legislature?

The presentations were followed by a brief question and answer period.

To view the Power Point presentation by Drs. Bunting and Longfellow, please click here.

To view Rep. Briggs King's Power Point presentation, please click here.