Like many candidates for the state legislature, Christina School Board member John Mackenzie said he is running to help improve the public education system.
But unlike the increasing number of candidates and public officials calling for the consolidation of the state's 19 school districts, the Newark Democrat thinks the way to get more money in the classroom is to enhance local control.
An economist at the University of Delaware, Mackenzie said he has studied public education financing in all 50 states. What he discovered, he said, is that the states with the least locally autonomous districts generally performed the worst on standardized tests. He pointed to Hawaii, which has a single, statewide school district and ranked 46th in the American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on Education in 2004.
"That's exactly the wrong approach," Mackenzie said of consolidation. "What we need to do is reduce state control and shift funding back locally and we do that by substituting property taxes for income tax."
Mackenzie said he believed properties should be reassessed. Higher property taxes should be paid directly to the school districts, and income tax paid to the state should be reduced proportionally.
"We need a substantial restructuring of our tax system so it’s doable and fair," he said. "But once tax dollars get lumped into the general fund in Dover, then it's a free-for-all as to what programs get what funding. But when you're paying school taxes locally, you're seeing that money go right to the schools in your neighborhood and it restores local participation and local decision-making."
Mackenzie said education reform is so important to him that he plans to remain on the school board for another two years until his youngest child graduates from Newark High School. Serving on both bodies is allowed under state law because the school board post has no salary.
As passionate as he is about education, Mackenzie stressed he was not a single-issue candidate.
He said he would join the chorus of calls for opening up the General Assembly to Freedom of Information Act laws.
"There are 21 senators and any majority of 11 or more should be able to drag a bill out of committee," he said. "It's amazing to see legislation with 12 to 15 sponsors, and yet it gets buried in a desk drawer. It's the classic example of going along to get along, and it has to change."
Mackenzie, who spent five years as a member of the Delaware Open Space Council, said there was also work to be done to encourage smarter development patterns in the state. He said there needs to be better coordination between municipalities which approve land use plans and the state which provides roads and schools to service them.
"All the infrastructure needs to be planned in advance and then you need high-quality development," he said. "I'm not anti-growth, but it has to be done right."
Mackenzie will face Hockessin-resident Michael Terranova in the September 9 Democratic Primary in the 6th senate district, which stretches from Yorklyn to Newark. The winner will face incumbent Liane Sorenson (R-Yorklyn) in the general election.
Mackenzie, 54, is widowed and has four children.
