Residents question appointment of Sussex Tech board

Sussex Tech officials are taking no stand on a bill that would require elections for the school boards at the state's vocational-technical schools.

“Vo-tech doesn't take a position on whether the board is appointed or elected,” said Joe Booth, school administration specialist for Sussex Tech, during a presentation before the Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce.

Governor-appointed school boards for Delaware's vocational-technical schools would be replaced with elected boards according to a bill that is awaiting action in the Senate education committee. Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, and Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, sponsored the bill following Sussex Tech's announcement that without a tax increase, 24 teaching, administrative and support positions would be cut.

Pettyjohn said the bill is on the committee agenda Wednesday, April 30.

Chamber member Randall Cash asked Booth why Sussex Tech's school board is not appointed locally. Booth said he would not defend the governor-appointed process of selecting vo-tech board members. Candidates go through a vetting process by the governor's office before they are selected, he said. Members of Sussex Tech's seven-member school board are President Patrick J. Cooper of Lewes, Vice President John E. Oliver, Judy L. Emory, George H. Torbert III, Annelle L. O’Neal, Fernando Guajardo and Teresa G. Carey.

Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips said many constituents have contacted him, charging Sussex Tech's proposed tax increase is taxation without representation. A bill that would more than double the current vo-tech tax still has no sponsor in the legislature.

“People call me and ask why can't we vote on the school board or tax increase,” he said. “They really feel that there's a disconnect, and they're not receiving fair representation.”

Georgetown resident David Tidwell said many voters are frustrated by the amount of money Delaware spends on education. He said a countywide system of school administration could save money, but officials appear reluctant to pursue it.

“We don't need a superintendent on every street corner in every town in Sussex County, and that's pretty much what we have,” Tidwell said. “It's frustrating when I see some of the salaries that these principals and assistant principals are making.”

At Sussex Tech, Principal John Demby makes $125,000 a year and three assistant principals make between $108,000 and $121,000 a year, according to records provided by the Office of Management and Budget. The district has only one school with about 1,400 students; it also has a superintendent, Allen J. Lathbury, who makes nearly $163,000 a year, and an assistant superintendent, Curt Bunting, who makes nearly $144,000.

Booth, who makes $67,000 in his Tech position, said he remembers discussion about overall education salaries statewide when he served as a state senator, but there is resistance to change.

He said he questioned the formula-based system used to determine education salaries, but the state continues to use the same formulas to determine teacher and administrative salaries.

“In another life I found that hard to approach,” he said.