This is the heart of what is wrong with Delaware. In an article by Bike Delaware, the group brags about how the General Assembly approved $20.7 million for bike trail improvements in Delaware. Meanwhile, students considered to be basic special education in Kindergarten to 3rd grade, go for a sixth year without special education funding from the state. Pork indeed! Now before bicycling enthusiasts come at me, I fully support bicycle safety and awareness. While I don’t ride a bicycle these days, I think it is important for further safety for the sport. But not at the expense of children in public schools! And we can say this is part of the capital budget, not the operating budget. But money shifts around ALL the time at Legislative Hall.
We are especially grateful for the leadership of State Senator Dave Sokola, the co-chair of the committee that wrote the capital budget, and Governor Jack Markell. It’s not a coincidence that Senator Sokola biked to work yesterday (about 60 miles) and Governor Markell biked to work today (also about 60 miles).
I have no doubt it isn’t a coincidence! And by mentioning how Sokola is the co-chair of the committee that writes the capital budget, you might as well throw out the words “conflict of interest”. Are we really saying, as a state, that despite all the arguments about education funding and how we will “commit to doing better next year” that our General Assembly approved $20.7 million in taxpayer funds for what amounts to a select special interest for a hobby? But the legislators who question this kind of nonsense are considered “unpatriotic” by people like State Rep. Melanie Smith…
This is a disgrace. How much longer will high-needs students continue to go without while fat-cats like Senator David Sokola and Governor Jack Markell can bike to Legislative Hall? While I was not always supportive of the WEIC plan, I think that was much more worthy than bike trails. We have schools that desperately need restoration and improvements, but paths for cyclists are more important? What the hell is wrong with this state and when will our legislators finally step up and say no as a collective body to this insanity? We have homeless people, increasing violence in our cities, and jobs that don’t pay as much as they used to. We have police that aren’t getting the funds they need to effectively do their jobs. But this is okay?
House Bill 30 would have guaranteed funding for students in Kindergarten to 3rd Grade with the designation of basic special education. Based on a unit-count system, these children get no state funding in these grades. It is one of the most transparent and visible flaws in Delaware education funding. But I suppose it is okay to ignore the needs of the most vulnerable of children so people like Jack Markell and David Sokola, whose very agendas and laws have further demeaned these children multiple times, can get more out of their bicycle hobby. What a joke!
What kind of Governor bikes sixty miles to work? What if something happens to him? Is that in the best interest of the state to have your Governor biking to work on a hot day? Do his bodyguards have to bike with him? Do they get extra duty hazard pay for that? Since we don’t have a Lieutenant Governor and something happened to Jack while bike-riding, who steps up then? Schwartzkopf? Good lord!
I can think of many different ways we could have allocated these funds in a “tough budget year”. The Delaware Joint Finance Committee and the folks on the Bond Committee need to open their eyes and see what they are doing to this state. Meanwhile, cyclists across the state rejoice! While students suffer…
Updated, 7/5/16, 2:35pm: On Bike Delaware’s Facebook page, the group responded to comments made on there about this article with the following:
80% of this money comes from the federal government for transportation system (capital) investments. The federal government does not permit this money to be spent on schools (or anything not related to transportation). It’s deeply unfair to criticize Governor Markell and Senator Sokola for failing to spend these federal transportation dollars on schools. Neither Governor Markell or Senator Sokola have any authority to re-program this money this way. (They can spend it on walking and cycling projects rather than new roads but they can’t spend it on schools or libraries or hospitals or anything not related to transportation.)
To which I responded:
Be that as it may, it is just more pork. Even more distressing this comes at a federal level when IDEA Special Education funding at a federal level is at 37.5% of what it should be when the law was reauthorized in 2004. While that has absolutely nothing to do with Bike Delaware, it is symptomatic of a disease in our country where those who already have so much more than others get more while those who don’t have those luxuries lose out. I’m pretty sure an argument could be made somewhere that Delaware’s transportation grants from the Feds could be used to get rid of the Neighborhood Schools Act which has further segregated our schools, especially in Wilmington. Funding is twisted all the time in our state, this should not be an exception. Once again, though, I do want to reiterate this is not a slam against those who enjoy biking, but rather what I consider to be a misuse of funds during a time when others desperately need funding for more apparent reasons. With your permission, may I update my article with your comment?
And their response:
Please do. To repeat, it’s not within either Governor Markell’s or Senator Sokola’s discretion to spend these federal transportation dollars on anything other than transportation projects. All they have done is take about ~5% of those FY17 dollars and dedicated them for improving the state for people walking and cycling. And, given that Delaware is the deadliest state in America for pedestrians, it’s not out-of-line for the state to be making improvements that make it safer for people to walk and bicycle. Not to mention, that 2/3rds of Delawareans are overweight or obese and making it safe for people to be more physically active is a critical public health priority. And, if you are an environmentalist, every bike trip that replaces a car trip means less air pollution….These are urgent public policy priorities that have absolutely nothing to do with anybody’s “hobby.”
I appreciate Bike Delaware’s response, but like I said, this is a matter of what side you agree on. Regardless of where the funds generate from, we live in a country where those who have the luxury and time to bike over bridges along the C&D Canal in Delaware have that ability. But I fail to see how these bike trails, while I’m sure are utilized by some who are less fortunate, will solve obesity problems and pedestrian deaths. In my opinion, I think pet projects like this are pushed by people like Markell and Sokola so they can enjoy them, not the people who probably aren’t even aware things like this exist because they are too busy looking for work, or already work several jobs, just to put food on the table. And it goes all the way up to a federal level and funds are locked in for specific purposes like this so they can only be used for pet projects by legislators and Governors.
*the above picture is from DelDOT
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