Coalition outlines 7 goals that should guide school funding

The state’s education funding should have seven goals, a coalition of education leaders in Delaware said Thursday night during a virtual community meeting focused on student-centered funding. 

It was one of several webinars hosted by Vision Coalition, a public-private partnership of  Delawareans working to improve public education. It includes education, community and legislative leaders.

The coalition’s leadership developed the Vision 2015 plan in 2006. Ten years later, with Delaware adopting more than 75 percent of its recommendations, Vision Coalition helped create a new 10-year plan.

The group is gearing up for its next 10-year plan, shaping a vision for public education in Delaware for 2035.

Much of the discussion was driven by Emily Falcon, chief operating officer of the Colonial School District, who discussed the need for a needs-based funding model, improved efficiency and better support for underfunded areas like Western Sussex County. 

Delaware’s current resource-based formula follows teachers more than students.

The conversation also highlighted the importance of social-emotional intelligence, resilience and self-efficacy in students. 

The process of drafting the new 10-year plan involves town halls, steering committees and more. 

Presenters also said the First State’s education funding system should have the following seven attributes:

• Effective
• Efficient
• Equitable
• Adequate
• Predictable
• Transparent
• Flexible

The 10-year plan is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2025, and comes on the heels of a landmark, 200-plus page report from the American Institutes for Research that suggests $500 million to $1 billion more gets invested in education. 

RELATED: Adding $500M+ more into education likely matter for legislature

This past legislative session, the General Assembly established the Public Education Funding Commission to evaluate and make changes to the current funding system, with the landmark report in mind.

Their first meeting is later this month. 

The Vision Coalition has one final community meeting this month: Monday, Sept. 16 at 6:30 a.m. with a discussion focused on student supports. Register for the virtual meeting here.