The Colonial School District is in dire straits. They MUST pass their referendum attempt today. If not, expect a huge amount of cuts and layoffs. Unfortunately for Colonial, this comes at a time when all eyes are on the state budget deficit.
I’ve learned there are three camps when it comes to referenda.
There are those who promote referenda because it is an essential must in Delaware for a school district to be fully funded. I tend to live in this camp most of the time with very few exceptions.
There are those who believe a referendum exists to pillage taxes out of the wallets of citizens within the district. They fight referenda tooth and nail and sometimes post “fake news” to make sure a referendum does not pass.
There are those who don’t even know what a referendum is. They get their property tax bill and pay it, no questions asked. These campers are by far the biggest of the three. They don’t vote in referenda and have no knowledge whatsoever of what it even means.
Colonial’s referendum today is do or die for them. Yes, I often state we need to see more transparency when it comes to education funding. Our State Auditor does not conduct yearly audits of school districts even though it is required by state law. But that doesn’t mean I oppose referenda in Delaware. Until a new mechanism is created which changes this warped way Delaware has with funding schools, the referendum is the only way for school districts to survive. There is a very good chance our legislators will approve Carney’s idiot idea of school boards being able to pass a one-time match tax without a referendum. I oppose this for more reasons than I can count. But Colonial had this referendum planned way before Carney even introduced this idiot idea.
To vote no is to vote no for students in many ways. If you enjoy bloated classrooms with over 30 kids in the class, then you will vote no. If you feel all administrators are an evil monopoly choking instruction in the classroom, you will vote no. If you feel no taxpayer dollars have ever funded a school, you will vote no. All three of the above are what the referenda naysayers like to promote. There is a difference between wanting transparency (folks like me) and those who don’t want education funding at all (the referenda naysayers).
Many of the folks who oppose referenda don’t even have kids in the school district. They have kids in private schools or they are elderly citizens who feel they have been taxed too much. The private school parents actually want a school voucher system to take place so their taxpayer dollars go towards me and not the community.
I support the Colonial referendum today and if I lived there, I would vote a resounding YES!
The Season Of Myths 
Vote NO. They don’t get what they, they come back again. What cuts have they made? Your right the funding of Delaware schools is broken, it’s a joke!
Yea, oh it’s all about the kids. The DOE, made it what it is. Yea, there should be vouchers, for private schools. WE saved the state $150 million dollars, you forget that. Why do I want to send my child to a broken education system?
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Vote YES. No, there should NOT be vouchers for private schools. That is a personal choice of parents to send their kids to private schools. It is going out of the traditional system. But there is a price tag for that. It isn’t the same as public education. So why should I flip the bill for what amounts to a private corporation? Furthermore, once those private schools get state or federal funding, they lose whatever niche they had to make parents choose that school. Cause then the hammer comes in where eventually that private school becomes just like any other school. How did that work out? Not too well. When you say “WE saved the state $150 million dollars”, I have forgotten that. Who is this “WE”?
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“WE” are the people who have chosen to send their children to private schools! And, no let the money follow the student, that it can be used for books, transportation, etc. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/education/284447-school-vouchers-work-why-arent-more-available
Vouchers work and private schools know how to budget and get the job done for less!
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I respectfully disagree with you. Vouchers work only for those who take advantage of them. And then, there are no guarantees. Say a school costs $15,000 a year. But that voucher is only for $8-$10,000. Who flips the bill for the rest? Federal special education law under IDEA doesn’t apply to private schools. Do you know how many private schools won’t accept those students? I fully accept they will sell vouchers under the guise of “helping” students with high needs. And then it will spread to everyone. They don’t work, and that has been proven time and time again, in state after state. It is a parent’s choice to send their child to private school. They are not funded by public dollars so why should my taxpayer money ALSO pay for your child going to private school? Sweden tried a countrywide voucher program and it failed miserably. Their PISA scores sunk and fraud and waste happened in record time. One article stating all these analyses doesn’t do much compared to the hundreds of articles I’ve read with real evidence showing how they don’t work. I have no doubt they do work for very wealthy people. Betsy DeVos caters to that crowd. Not to my kid. So voucher supporters can get their funds elsewhere. They aren’t coming out of my wallet.
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But private schools pay their teachers like shit!
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“They aren’t coming out of my pocket.” That is how people feel about public education, directly out of your mouth. You pointed fingers at others, who say the same thing, “Not my kid”. NO, you want it for free. There is no discussing with you.
“Since 2015, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, two of the largest teachers unions, have donated over $5 million to political parties and causes, and virtually all of that money has gone to Democrats.”
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Funny….you were NOT saying that with the Indian River referendum in November or March.
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Like I said, with very few exceptions.
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That is very hypocritical. The same thing was going to happen to Indian River if the referendum didn’t pass. Even with the referendum passing, we will short funds due to the state, which we knew going in. I can’ t even imagine what it would be like if it didn’t pass. Our district would have been short a little more than $10 million.
“To vote no is to vote no for students in many ways. If you enjoy bloated classrooms with over 30 kids in the class, then you will vote no. If you feel all administrators are an evil monopoly choking instruction in the classroom, you will vote no. If you feel no taxpayer dollars have ever funded a school, you will vote no. All three of the above are what the referenda naysayers like to promote. There is a difference between wanting transparency (folks like me) and those who don’t want education funding at all (the referenda naysayers).” Your words………I guess you should have been shouting vote YES for the Indian River referendum too.
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Colonial wasn’t part of a HUGE audit investigation. Big difference!
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Sorry, but depsite the audit investigation, the school district was transparent with what was going on. The fact that the school district ASKED for the audit and fired Patrick Miller shows that they were dedicated in righting the wrong. There is no difference…if the referendum had not passed, it would have been catastrophic for the kids. You have said yourself that the DOE does not audit the districts like they should…..wonder what would happen if they did? My guess is the same thing that happened at Indian River.
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It was a confusing time and my trust in people involved in education has always been controversial. With that being said, and we have agreed on this in the past, Indian River has come a long way under Steele. In hindsight, I’m glad they passed their last referendum.
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WOW, this is a disgrace, that this increase passed. Especially in light of the current budget situation. People who don’t own property, should not be permitted to vote and they should pay what a homeowner pays in taxes to the school, THAT should be their tuition!! They use scare tactics and the whole Delaware education system, should be revamped! There are too many districts and too many over paid administrators. You keep giving this people carte blanche to raise property taxes, people are going to move out! In Sussex county you have, out of staters who own property and they do a vote during the week. It’s a joke, holding children hostage!!!
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Uhm, Anono, most elections are held during the week. Do those same out-of-staters come to Sussex during a General Election to vote? If it were held in the Winter on a weekend would they make a special trip to Delaware just to vote in a referendum?
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