Lawmakers target school bureaucracy
Public education bureaucracy, including the number of school districts, appears to be one legislator's prime target for budget cuts this year.
"Given the situation we are in, we need to make sure that every possible dollar is going directly into the classroom," said Rep. Melanie George Smith, chair of the Joint Finance Committee, which writes the state's budget.
At more than a billion dollars, public education is the biggest part of state spending, and it is also one of the fastest-growing parts of the state budget. That means it is near the top of the list for a General Assembly that needs to fill a $350 million budget hole.
On her third day on the job, Secretary of Education Susan Bunting and her staff was bombarded with questions Wednesday from JFC. They scrutinized dozens of state programs and jobs at the state level, asking how they were directly affecting children and whether that money could be better spent.
Read more: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/01/lawmakers-school-bureaucracy/97345954/
