The Delaware State of the States report for 2024–2025 analyzes education finance priorities, reforms, and challenges shaping the state’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget. Public education remains the largest expenditure, receiving 36% of the 6. 07 billion operating budget, or approximately 2. 19 billion. Major allocations support capital projects, unit growth, school safety, mental health services, educator compensation, opportunity funding, and early childhood education. Delaware continues to rely on its unit count funding system, but following the Delawareans for Educational Opportunity v. Carney settlement and the 2023 adequacy study by the American Institutes for Research, policymakers endorsed a hybrid system combining unit count with weighted funding for low-income students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities. Additional fiscal and policy pressures include controversial property reassessments, teacher shortages, and a rising reliance on charter and vocational-technical schools. In response, state leaders have advanced tax reforms, teacher salary increases, and pipeline programs to strengthen the educator workforce. Delaware continues to spend above the national average, budgeting 14, 697 per pupil in FY 2025, with nearly 40% of the state’s general fund dedicated to education. Collectively, these changes highlight Delaware’s efforts to balance fiscal equity, workforce stability, and evolving demands for high-quality, accessible public education.
Xinyu Guan (Wed,) studied this question.