Schools given one-time enrollment funding

Delaware school districts and charter schools will get $9 million in one-time funding to prevent educator and state layoffs due to enrollment reductions.

“Our educators, school personnel, and school leaders have taken on the challenges of this pandemic and ensured children remain fed, educated, and supported,” said Gov. John Carney in a press release. “We are pleased to make this funding available to districts and charter schools to ensure no staff members are laid off because of enrollment declines during the pandemic. We look forward to seeing students back in classrooms in a hybrid format in January, and I thank our schools for all the work they are doing to bring children back safely.”

To access the one-time funding, districts and charters must certify they will not lay off educators or staff, and that the funds will go toward student instruction, focused on those students who have been most negatively impacted by the loss of in-person instruction. Based on enrollment levels, districts and charters will receive as much as $1.1 million in additional state funding to prevent layoffs.

“This funding will give our educators and students the stability they need as they finish this unprecedented school year,” said Susan Bunting, secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “Whether our children have chosen hybrid or remote learning for the spring semester, they will highly profit from the instructional consistency and learning support that the current staff offers.”

“Enrollment this year has been particularly transient due to the harsh realities our families have faced due to COVID-19,” said Dan Shelton, superintendent of Christina School District and president of the Chief School Officers’ Association. “We are pleased that the governor and Secretary Bunting have supported our educators with the funding needed to maintain our services and supports at their current levels. Our educators are working tirelessly to engage students in new ways under changing conditions. This recognition goes a long way in helping to meet the needs of our students, staff and families as we navigate this pandemic together.”