Issue 610 - January 24, 2025

NEWS & VIDEO

Bill Seeking to Provide State Funding for School Resource Officers Sidelined by Partisan Divide


On Wednesday, the House Education Committee refused to advance a measure to facilitate the placement of at least one school resource officer (SRO) or constable in every public school.


Sponsored by State Rep. Bryan Shupe (R-Milford South, pictured), House Bill 32 seeks to provide a funding unit for the officers--similar to how teachers and other education employees are financed. The state typically pays about 70% of the expense of these positions, with local schools picking up the remainder.


Under the proposal, schools with over 1,000 students would qualify for additional funding. Local district officials could opt out of the program if they chose not to participate.


The vote to table the proposal broke along partisan lines. Democrats, who hold the majority on the committee, voted against the bill’s release. Republican legislators favored allowing it to proceed to the House floor for further debate and consideration.


One of the chief objections voiced by Democratic committee members was the bill’s cost. If the funding unit proposed by the measure were fully utilized by all eligible schools, assuming the current ratio of SROs to constables remains consistent, the bill would cost state taxpayers a maximum of $23.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year.


However, Rep. Shupe cautioned his colleagues that the actual expense would likely be much less than this since many local school officials would likely choose not to employ SROs or constables in all their facilities.


Education Committee Democrats maintained that whatever the actual cost, the money would better be spent on raising teacher salaries and hiring school-based mental health workers.


According to the National Education Association, the average annual salary for an educator in Delaware in 2024 was $68,787, ranking it 16th in the nation. Last year, the General Assembly also committed to raising the starting salary of all public school teachers to $60,000.


Last August, the governor signed bipartisan legislation creating a mental health services funding unit for Delaware high schools so high schools could add a full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker. The measure passed without a dissenting vote. When fully phased in, House Bill 200 will carry an initial annual state cost of $22.8 million.


Testifying on behalf of the SRO funding bill was Joey Melvin, a former SRO who worked in Georgetown and Milford and is currently the director of the Pennsylvania-based Center for Safe Schools. He told the committee members that while SROs are law enforcement officers, their primary role in schools was not surveillance and arrests but building relationships with students, parents, teachers, and other school staffers.


“During my time as an SRO, I saw that earning the trust of a child often extends to the parents, the guardians, and, in essence, the community,” he said. “It fosters collaborations, interventions, and a better sense of safety for everyone.” 


He added that his organization provides SRO training emphasizing aiding students with disabilities, building relationships with diverse student populations, emergency operations planning, and de-escalation techniques.


The tabling of the SRO funding bill leaves its future in doubt, but the measure could receive an additional hearing anytime during the 153rd General Assembly, which runs through most of next year. A reconsideration of the legislation would require a change of heart on the part of members who opposed it or a proposal to alter the existing bill through an amendment.

NEWS BRIEF

New Bill Would Crack Down on People Interfering with School Buses


A bill introduced in the State Senate this week seeks to hold accountable people who knowingly hinder the operation of a school bus.


Senate Bill 48 would expand the existing offense of disorderly conduct to encompass the belligerent behavior.


Under the bipartisan proposal, such conduct would include the following circumstances:


  • people who board the bus and refuse to exit after being ordered to do so by the driver;
  • people who threaten the school bus driver, a student, or any passenger entering, leaving, or waiting for the bus;
  • anyone who wrongfully restricts the movement of a school bus.


The offense would apply to any school bus transporting, picking up, or dropping off students.


Under the proposed amendment, a student or passenger authorized to ride the school bus in the ordinary course of business could not be changed.


As an unclassified misdemeanor, the offense would carry a penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a fine not exceeding $575.


State Reps. Danny Short (R-Seaford) and Lyndon Yearick (R-Camden, Wyoming) are co-sponsors of the legislation.


The measure is pending a hearing in the Senate Education Committee.

NEWS BRIEF

Bipartisan Bill to Create a New State Agency to be Considered Tuesday

The House Veterans Affairs Committee will consider a bill to create a new Delaware Department of Veterans Affairs next week. Under House Bill 1, a cabinet-level secretary would lead the new agency.


Proponents of the bipartisan measure maintain that the new department and secretary would ensure veterans receive dedicated, focused leadership and advocacy at the highest levels of government.


State Rep. Bill Carson (D-Smyrna) is the proposal's prime sponsor. He is joined by 18 other lawmakers from both chambers and both sides of the aisle as sponsors and co-sponsors.


"A cabinet-level position would also streamline efforts to improve the services and programs available to veterans, ensuring they receive the care and resources they deserve after serving the country," said State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky (R-Long Neck, Oak Orchard, pictured), one of the bill's prime sponsors.


According to the Controller General's Office, establishing the new department would cost less than $900,000 annually. Supporters of the bill claim that Delaware is currently not receiving all the federal veterans' funding it is due. They say the state's investment in the office would be more than offset by its ability to secure those delinquent dollars.


The committee hearing is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 28th, at Legislative Hall in Dover.


To take part or watch the proceedings virtually, use this link: https://legis.delaware.gov/MeetingNotice/33482

NEWS BRIEF

Delaware Has A New Governor, Again


The First State has a new governor for the second time this month.


Matt Meyer took his oath of office Tuesday morning on the campus of Delaware State University in Dover, becoming Delaware's 76th governor.


For the 14 days preceding that ceremony, Bethany Hall-Long had served as the chief executive. As the lieutenant governor, Hall-Long became governor after John Carney had to leave office before the end of his second term to become the new mayor of the City of Wilmington. 


A former elementary school math teacher, Governor Meyer used his inaugural remarks to telegraph that public education will be a significant focus of the incoming administration:


We live...in tumultuous times but also times of amazing innovation. Biomedicine is cracking the code of disease, discovering new ways to improve and extend our lives. Technology is getting smarter, making us more efficient, more effective, in our jobs and daily lives. Delaware can and should be leading these transformations. We have one of the highest number of PhDs per capita in America. But we also have one of the five worst-performing public school systems in America...Students aren’t failing; our schools are failing our students. As a teacher and as governor, I refuse to accept that. I refuse to write off any of our kids...I’ve shared many of my plans for reform, and I’ll discuss more details in the coming weeks. But for now, let me say to Delaware’s schools, teachers, and students: you all have an ally in the governor’s office."


To read the governor's inaugural address, use this link: https://news.delaware.gov/2025/01/21/governor-matthew-s-meyers-inaugural-address-as-prepared/