The Delaware State Education Association (DSEA) — the largest labor union in the state representing roughly 14,000 educators — officially endorses Democratic candidate and New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer for governor just two weeks ahead of the November 5 General election.
DSEA initially endorsed former Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long's bid for governor after conducting a formal interview process with all of the candidates, but following her loss in the Primary Election, the union has decided to pivot.
"Unfortunately for us, our endorsed candidate Bethany Hall-Long did not win the primary, and so then we had to, as an organization, kind of think about what our next steps were going to be," DSEA President Stephanie Ingram said. "Our leadership team met again with Matt Meyer, our board had some conversations around some of their concerns and what they wanted to do moving forward, and then the board was able to, with some more time with the Meyer campaign, decide that endorsing was the right step at this point."
Ingram says the endorsement was driven by Meyer’s commitment to work closely with DSEA on the issues that matter most to Delaware students, families, and the active and retired public school educators that she represents.
“Just as it takes a village to raise a child, Matt understands that you need strong partnerships to build stronger public schools where all children, regardless of zip code or family income, are able to reach their full potential,” Ingram said.
“Matt’s experience as a middle school math teacher, his unprecedented support for public schools as County Executive, and his commitment to partnering with the working people who have committed their lives to building a world-class public education system make him the clear choice for Delaware’s next Governor,” she said. “DSEA stands ready to work with Matt to accomplish the shared goals and values outlined in his extensive plan for moving Delaware’s public schools forward.”
Meyer was serving as a math teacher at Prestige Academy in Wilmington when he first ran for New Castle County Executive and has since put education policy at the forefront of his campaign for governor.
He has pledged to address the educator staffing crisis by implementing the Public Education Compensation Committee’s recommendations for keeping educator pay and benefits competitive with Delaware’s neighbors, while providing professional wages for all staff members
Meyer also supports the independent review of Delaware's education system conducted by the American Institutes for Research — commonly known as the AIR report — which recommends the First State invest anywhere from $600 million to $1 billion more in education.
Meyer backs the report's recommendation to convert the state's current unit funding formula model to a weighted formula based on student need, which would increase state spend per pupil anywhere from $3,400 to $6,400.
"We commit not only to increase funding but also to allocate resources based on a 2025 formula using 21st-century values, allocating resources from the state tailored to student needs, especially for low-income students, those with disabilities, and English Learners," Meyer’s Real Plans Policy Book reads.
Meyer has also denounced creating a school voucher system and similar programs that would subsidize the tuition cost of private or religious schools with taxpayer dollars.
Meyer's opponent, Republican and Minority Leader in the Delaware House of Representatives Mike Ramone, has publicly endorsed creating such a system, which DSEA does not support.
"I absolutely believe if a child and their family's only ability is to go to a failing public school, they should have the ability to go somewhere else, whether they have to get a tax voucher to offset that cost or whatever," Ramone said during the 2024 Delaware Debates.
DSEA is also pleased with Meyer's commitment to improving student outcomes and enhancing school climate by ensuring appropriate class sizes and caseloads and providing additional support for educators and students and ensuring public education funding remains stable and predictable.
“I am incredibly honored to be supported by the thousands of teachers, specialists, and education support professionals represented by DSEA," Matt Meyer said. “If I am fortunate to become Delaware’s next Governor, they will be valued partners in my administration’s efforts to better support our teachers, improve our schools, and ensure every Delaware child receives a world-class education."
The state currently has two committees tackling recommendations for the next governor on how to address some of the First State's most pressing education issues.
The Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force is set to deliver its recommendations on data-driven, developmentally-appropriate school discipline policies and interventions to improve school climate in Delaware schools by November 1, with its final meeting scheduled for October 28.
The newly created Public Education Funding Commission is keeping a loose deadline of October 2025 to deliver its own recommendations on if the state's current education funding formula should be reworked or scratched entirely.
Meyer and Ramone face each other in the General Election on Nov. 5, 2024.
