Leaders look ahead at the challenges facing Delaware in 2025

Delaware Live asked 40 Delaware community leaders across political and business spectrums to look ahead at 2025. We got some great answers but were frankly disappointed by the number of responses. Perhaps next year.

In the meantime, please feel free to post your thoughts in the Comments. You can also see what Milford’s Jo Schmeiser and Mark Whitfield had to say on this topic here.

 

BRANDON BRICE, Co-Founder of 100 Black Men of Delaware and State Secretary of the Delaware GOP.

Which existing community strength could be better leveraged to improve life in Delaware? Education town halls up and down the State.

What specific development or trend should Delaware residents pay close attention to in 2025? The number of businesses leaving Delaware.

What gives you the most hope for Delaware’s future? More minority conservatives are running for office, and an emphasis on fixing our broken education system.

Which area of Delaware life (e.g., infrastructure, education, business, healthcare, culture) needs the most attention in 2025? Education and small business.

What’s one bold prediction you have for Delaware in 2025? My prediction is that you will know by April what kind of Governor we have, and that 2028 will produce a Republican Governor.

 

KATIE DODGE GILLIS, Executive Officer, Home Builders Association of Delaware

Which area of Delaware life needs the most attention in 2025? Housing. Specifically, the production of housing. The National Association of Home Builders makes the point that regulations account for nearly a quarter of the cost of a home. The ever-growing list of regulatory hurdles slow projects down and cost a considerable amount of money. But some of this could be offset by increasing density allowances and spreading those costs across multiple units, effectively stabilizing or lowering prices. Density also promotes efficient land use, which helps to reduce urban sprawl and infrastructure costs. It’s important to recognize that our state is about 20,000 units short of meeting demand for the most affordable units, but a good portion of Delaware is zoned for single-family housing only. We need to meet the challenge on the demand side by removing barriers to increase production of all types of housing.

 

RELATED: Delaware leaders look back at the challenges and successes of 2024

 

NANCY MERCANTE, Founder and President of Citizens for Delaware Schools

Specific trends Delaware residents should pay close attention to in 2025:

Alternative education models that work: Alternative education models in use with inner city urban youth and an analysis of keys to their success. Nativity Prep and Urban Promise are two Christian-based private schools that offer urban, low-income kids the chance to secure a high-quality education and promising future.  These schools offer important lessons for public schools that want to achieve better academic outcomes by changing their school climate, increasing direct parental involvement and using volunteers to create a constant presence of a supporting community.

Urban Promise: Wilmington equips urban children and young adults with a Christ-centered education focused on academic achievement, life management, personal growth and servant leadership. Their heart-warming stories of lives changed by a consistent presence of a supporting community of teachers, parents, volunteers and older kids serving as mentors.

Nativity Prep is located across the street from one of the worst-performing schools in the state. The results couldn’t be more stark. Their approach is similar to Urban Promise but on a smaller scale (middle school only). Many of their graduates win scholarships to Tower Hill, Salesianum, and Tatnall.

 

TANYA HETTLER, PH.D., Director, Center for Education Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute

The Delaware Legislature has passed two bills focused on the Science of Reading. However, Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 4, which requires that explicit direct instruction in literacy (i.e. Science of Reading) be taught in our schools, does not need to be fully implemented until the 2027-2028 school year. This must be changed. Delaware schools and students cannot wait 2-3 more years to learn how to read. Delaware schools have been teaching students reading in ways that have not been supported by science and this needs to be changed immediately – and put into practice in 2025.

While some school districts are already implementing the Science of Reading and training educators in its implementation, Delaware’s Legislature must move up the date for the full implementation of the Science of Literacy in our schools so that it occurs this year.

The Delaware Literacy Alliance’s Early Child Literacy Subcommittee is dedicated to advancing initiatives focused on developing foundational reading and writing skills using the Science of Reading. The Alliance aims to build partnerships, enhance collaborations, and facilitate effective referrals for children in need of literacy intervention, ensuring access to high-quality services and materials, and raising awareness about the importance of early literacy. This work should encourage the state to speed the full implementation of the Science of Reading in our schools.

 

JIM MURPHY, Executive Director, Delaware, American Heart Association

Community strength to better leverage: Delaware’s close-knit nature is its greatest strength. By leveraging this interconnectedness, we can expand community health initiatives, ensuring stroke education reaches every corner of our state, especially underserved populations.

Development or trend to watch in 2025: The integration of technology in healthcare, particularly in telemedicine for stroke treatment, has transformative potential. Expanding access to timely interventions like tele-stroke programs could dramatically improve survival rates and recovery outcomes.

What gives hope for Delaware’s future: The commitment of Delaware’s leaders, healthcare providers, and residents to address critical health issues inspires hope. Seeing bipartisan support for health equity initiatives and the growing engagement of younger generations in advocacy efforts underscores a bright future.

Area needing the most attention in 2025: Healthcare, particularly stroke prevention and care, remains a top priority. Reducing stroke mortality requires sustained focus on prevention, early recognition, and equitable access to treatment and rehabilitation services statewide.

Bold prediction for 2025: Delaware will see a measurable reduction in stroke mortality rates as a result of enhanced education campaigns, improved emergency response systems, and expanded access to cutting-edge stroke care. The collaborative momentum from 2024 will carry us forward into significant breakthroughs.

 

HON. WILLIAM WITHAM JR, Resident Judge, Delaware Superior Court and retired Colonel

I think there are two stories that are very important for Delaware that were reported (not enough) in 2024.

First, the enactment of the Hospital Review Board, which will be very destructive in improving health care in Delaware. Costs cannot be governed by bureaucrats; they will increase costs. Medicare is out of control, due to the middle man and the distortionary tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health care. This is a mistake.

Second, the authorization of recreational marijuana – not giving any tax money to towns — is a killer since the enforcement, increase of crime and ruination of our youth will expand in a dramatic fashion.

In addition, a developing story for 2025 is the increasingly potential loss of Delaware as “the Corporate State.” Recent adverse cases by our Court of Chancery and Supreme Court makes Delaware less of a hospitable place to do business. We can’t afford to lose 25% or more of our tax revenue. More on this later, I am planning to write some more on this on the A Better Delaware blog.

 

COLLEEN PERRY KEITH, President, Goldey-Beacom College

Which area of Delaware life (e.g., infrastructure, education, business, healthcare, culture) needs the most attention in 2025?  While all need attention, I am most concerned about improving funding and outcomes for public education in our K-12 system. We are doing our youth a huge disservice, we are doing our state and our employers a huge disservice.  We need a state-wide focus and commitment to improving the K-12 system.