The Schols of Christina!

No, I did not misspell the word “schools”.  Apparently the Christina School District is now investing in tectonic plates made of ice.  I find this rather fascinating.  Yes!  This is what the children of Christina’s Wilmington schools need to succeed and compete in the global economy!

It makes sense in a bizarre way.  Schol, a dutch word for ice floes, is defined as any type of sea ice not attached to land.  This is exactly how the Christina Wilmington schools are in relation to the rest of the district.  They are an island, separated from the rest of the district.  I have no doubt in my mind this was the intention of the district when they created this video.  It was a Jedi mind trick to see how many people would get it.  You can’t fool this blogger!  But someone forgot to tip off Christina Board President Meredith Griffin.  He pronounced “schol” as “schools”.

Ten days ago, the Christina School District spent  an undisclosed amount of money on a promotional video for the “Wilmington Schools Partnership”.  For those wondering what that is, it is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the district, the Christina Educators Association, Governor Carney’s office, and the Delaware Department of Education.  The goal is to improve educational outcomes for Christina’s Wilmington students.  The plan is still in the implementation stages.  The jury is still out on whether it will be successful or not.  After ten days, as of this writing, the video has received an astonishing 22 views.

106 years ago, a schol caused a major problem for the RMS Titanic.  When the passenger liner collided with the schol, it caused the boat to sink hours later.  Over 1,500 passengers died in the Atlantic Ocean.  Another word for schol is iceberg.  Which is also the name of a kind of lettuce.  But that is different than Romaine lettuce.  People aren’t eating that these days because of another major problem.

 

Carney Has Closed-Door, Non-Public, Secret Meeting With Select Christina Board Members

Delaware Governor John Carney held a closed-door, non-public, secret meeting with two Christina Board of Education members yesterday.  Which members?  And what was the discussion?  And which board member got shafted when they should have been there based on the discussion?

No Cuts To Education Funding Rally Draws A Crowd

 

Teachers, parents, and even kids gathered on the East side of Legislative Hall for a No Cuts To Education Funding Rally.  All told, I would estimate there were somewhere in the ballpark of 50-75 participants in the rally.  Speakers included Eugene Young with Network Delaware, income President-elect of DSEA Mike Matthews, Christina PTA representative Mary Schorse, incoming Christina Board of Education Member Eugene Griffith Jr., PACE of Wilmington representative Swiyah Whittington, Christina CBOC member and Blue Delaware writer Brian Stephan, and Senator Bryan Townsend.

All of the speakers do not want any cuts to education funding and favored more state revenue in the form of higher taxes.  They urged folks to get involved in education and speak up.  They said the best way to do that is by letting their legislators know their thoughts on this.  Senator Townsend referred to Delaware’s teachers as “magicians” in that he believes they do great things for Delaware’s students.  Instead of writing about what will surely be covered by the major media in Delaware, I am presenting a photo gallery of the event.  This event leaned toward the Democrat way of thinking as the Republicans tend to favor large cuts as opposed to increasing revenue by increasing taxes.  The only legislator who attended the rally was Senator Townsend.

Meredith Griffin Jr. and Angela Mitchell Win Christina Board Seats

Unofficial results for Christina are in.  Meredith Griffin won 828 votes in District G.  Contenders Jeff Day got 369 votes and Kimara Smith had 170.  In District B, Angela Mitchell narrowly won in a tight race between herself and candidate Justin Day.  Mitchell had 480 votes to Justin Day’s 457.  Monica Moriak had 232 votes and Karen Sobotker had 72 votes in the District B race.  Congratulations to Griffin and Mitchell!

Not A Good Day For Christina

In the “October Surprise” for the 2017 Delaware School Board Election season, Atnre Alleyne of DelawareCAN dropped a huge bomb all over Christina Board candidate Jeff Day’s campaign with less than a week before the election.  When a former News Journal reporter jumped in on the controversy, it fanned the flames…

Delaware School Board Election 2017 Surveys: Christina School District

There are two races in the Christina School District for their Board of Education this year.  In District “B”, we have Justin Day, Angela Mitchell, Monica Moriak and Karen Sobotker.  In District “G” we have Jeff Day, Meredith Griffin Jr., and Kimara Smith.  I received survey from five of the candidates, but none from Justin Day or Kimara Smith.  To clarify, there are two candidates in the Christina races with a first initial of “J” and a last name of Day.  All the Day responses below are from candidate Jeff Day in District “G”.  I asked 14 tough questions of the candidates and I am grateful to the respondents for their responses.  Don’t forget to vote on May 9th!

Christina Board Member Resignation Leads To TWO Board Seat Elections On May 9th

The New Castle Department of Election is accepting nominations for District B in the Christina School District until April 20th.  Anyone who files will be a candidate for the school board election on May 9th.  This will leave Christina with two new board members following the resignation of Meg Mason last week.

I’ve seen in other districts where the board appoints someone until the next FULL school board election season.  This decision by the Dept. of Elections leaves a candidate very little time to prepare for a 19 day campaign.  If no one files, that protocol would take place.  I imagine it is because the resignation came prior to the school board election as the basis for the decision.

District G already has three candidates running for that seat: Jeff Day, Meredith Griffin, and Kimara Smith.  I will be announcing my endorsement for that district in the next few days, along with some other races.

Christina Board Race Down To Three. Is There A Concern With One Of Them?

Shirley Saffer withdrew as a candidate for the election of the Christina School District Board of Education seat today.  This leaves it down to three: Jeff Day, Meredith Griffin Jr., and Kimara Smith.  There will be no incumbent for the race since Saffer withdrew.

I’ve met both Day and Griffin before.  Smith is a relative unknown.  One of the candidates concerns me… A LOT!

Governor Carney & Secretary Bunting Will Be At Big WEIC Meeting Next Week

The Wilmington Education Improvement Commission will hold their next meeting on Tuesday, February 28th.  On the agenda is an appearance by none other than Delaware Governor John Carney and Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Susan Bunting.  This will be interesting!

This week, Carney gutted a proposed weighted funding formula for the FY2018 state budget stating there is no money for it.  WEIC doesn’t work at all if the money isn’t in that budget either.  The state is facing a $350-$400 million dollar budget deficit.  In November, WEIC Chair Tony Allen publicly announced that if WEIC doesn’t go through he can foresee some type of legal action against the State of Delaware.  Interestingly enough, WEIC member Meredith Griffin filed today to run for the Christina School District Board of Education for the election in May.  That sets up that election for a four-person race with still another week to file for potential candidates.  This week, issues of race and due process came up in Red Clay stemming from an incident at a basketball game between A.I. DuPont High School and Delaware Military Academy.  Carney and Bunting are getting an hour to talk.  That is actually a long time.  I can’t say if I’ve ever heard Carney talk about education that long.  I don’t know if all of these issues will come up at the meeting, but this meeting comes at a very interesting time.  This will also be a big moment for Secretary Bunting as she is new in office and will be tasked with restricting the Delaware Dept. of Education.

WEIC and it’s earlier incarnation, WEAC, have been around for two and a half years.  Eventually, WEIC presented a plan to send Christina Wilmington students to Red Clay along with several other initiatives throughout the state to improve education for high-needs students.  After a long and drawn-out battle with the State Board of Education, WEIC’s plan turned into legislation.  That legislation failed to pass in the Delaware Senate.  New legislation extended the planning period for another year.  But with this year’s budget deficit looking dismal, will WEIC get the bypass again?  If it does, what will folks like Tony Allen and Jea Street’s next move be?

This could be a crowded meeting.  Get there early.  And what is up with five minutes of public comment?  They may want to stretch that out!