DELAWARE- With school board elections just one week away, Cape Henlopen School District candidates met Monday night for a public forum to address community questions.
Two candidates are running for the district’s at-large seat: Chris Lovenguth and incumbent Bill Collick. Three others are seeking the District C seat: Patty Maull, Laura Parsons, and Andy Lewis. Lewis did not attend the forum.
A central topic of discussion was school funding, especially in light of two failed referendums last year.
“We want to make sure we’re doing what we can to properly fund our schools,” Collick said. “Looking down the road, we have to look at property somewhere. We’re going to have to build more—we just are.”
Lovenguth spoke of a need for transparency with voters.
“We have to be up front with the community, let them know what the money is for, and make sure it’s used for the students so they can get a quality education,” he said.
Maull pointed to Sussex County Council for help with future funding, especially as development continues across the region.
“We must depend on our local County Council to help us by imposing an impact fee for all new builds so if we are in the situation we are now with not being able to pass a referendum, we can count on the impact fees,” she said.
Parsons questioned the referendum process itself.
“Referendums tend to be only voted on by a small minority of the population,” Parsons said. “If these processes occurred more frequently and were done differently, the rate of increase would be smaller and better accepted by the community.”
Elections are also taking place in the Indian River School District. Voters can cast their ballots Tuesday, May 13, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.