About 600 people poured into Mount Pleasant Elementary School earlier this week, many to voice disapproval of proposed redistricting plans for Wilmington schools.
The Redding Consortium is set to decide which redistricting proposal will move forward Dec. 16, just days after it’s expected to receive a report on the cost and data behind each proposed plan.
The options envision splitting Wilmington students between Red Clay and Brandywine school districts; consolidating Brandywine, Red Clay and the City of Wilmington into one district or combining all four northern New Castle County districts into one.
State Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D-Wilmington) said the current model segregates students and provides lower quality education and resources to Wilmington schools.
“We can speak about values, but values are put into action,” Chukwuocha said. “And we see that in our city. And sadly, the values don't always stand for what this district claims to represent when it comes to the City of Wilmington.”
Brandywine School Board member Frank Livoy said he taught at Concord High School during its desegregation in 1978 and saw the rewards of redistricting.
“It was a wonderful blend,” Livoy said. “And the problem wasn't that the Bandywine School District doesn't want to take care of the kids from Wilmington. That's a misrepresentation. We do. The problem was when desegregation was relaxed and we went to the neighborhood schools, and that gave people a chance to resegregate.”
Several commenters throughout the meeting referred to 1978 as a year that saw a failed model come into play. State Sen. Tizzy Lockman said there was a court order in 1978 that required Wilmington to desegregate its districts.
“It's not a model that was ever taken in any care,” Lockman said. “So, that is the actual history there. We never had a county-wide district that was built and designed as a county-wide district. It was an interim step towards the districts that we now know.”
Brandywine School Board President Jason Heller said he and Chukwuocha fundamentally disagree on the issue at hand.
“I haven't heard how consolidating into a northern New Castle County District is going to resolve any of those inequities that exist,” Heller said. “That's my concern. If you have the data on how that's going to help, please, forward it to me. I would love to see it.”
Lockman said data they do have evidence that suggests fragmentation negatively affects student outcomes and community health.
“There's clear research on what happens when you concentrate poverty, what happens when you have fragmented governance,” Lockman said. “So I think we've proven the opposite, and we are absorbing all of the costs of refusing to entertain another way of doing things.”
The bulk of the crowd challenged the Consortium’s work, with some claiming there isn’t enough data to support any of the proposed plans and others saying the current system doesn’t need to be changed.
Kendra Johnson was one public commenter with a child at Brandywine.
“It seems premature to have the vote before we have enough of the details to understand the differences in the plans,” Johnson said. “And I'm learning about all of this within the last week. So tonight was very helpful, but I feel like we need to understand each proposal a little bit better and what it means, especially financially, before we vote.”
Stephanie McDonald, another commenter, asked why Wilmington Mayor John Carney and Gov. Matt Meyer were not in attendance.
“The big four social drivers are public safety, mental health, housing and transportation, all of which are obviously connected to safety,” McDonald said. “Where is the leadership of Wilmington ensuring the safety of all Wilmington residents?”
The Consortium originally planned to have its decision made in November, but members delayed voting on how to redistrict at that meeting instead. They claimed they didn’t have enough information on the cost of each proposal and couldn’t have a vote together at the time.
Former Vice President at the Delaware State Education Association and Brandywine High School teacher Jeannette Wilt expressed concerns in line with Heller, saying there wasn’t evidence that boundary changes alone will improve student outcomes and equity.
“We have longstanding gaps in resources, staffing and academic supports,” Wilt said. “Redrawing district lines without addressing these issues risks making a change with no meaningful benefit to student outcomes. These plans stop short of demonstrating how redistricting will actually close achievement gaps or improve access to programs.”
Lockman said Redding is not handing out demerits to school districts. She said it’s trying to keep successful efforts in place and continue moving forward.
“We think it's time for a serious look at coherent reform that allows a much broader community of students to have access to the best of what we've seen happen in the last 25 years plus, rather than just looking down the road and shaking our heads in dismay,” Lockman said.
Lockman clarified the Consortium is not proposing any school closures or attendance zone changes.
There was some concern at the November meeting that the delay would leave the General Assembly with a month or less to review the plan, which might not be enough for legislators to make a decision by the end of session.
Commission members on Monday said they don’t see a perfect path forward, and several aren’t sure how they will vote next week because of the data they’re waiting on.
