The four candidates for two vacancies on the Red Clay Board of Education all agreed that the school district must be more transparent with its finances to gain back the public’s trust.

They also discussed how to change the way the state provides funding to public school districts.

These issues and others were discussed at a school board candidate’s forum attended by 18 people at Dickinson High School in Milltown. The forum was sponsored by the Delaware State PTA and the Community News.

Cleveland Heights resident Kenneth Woods, 40, who is challenging Charles M. Cavanaugh to represent the Elsmere-Newport area, said it appears that the school board has been “asleep at the wheel.” For instance, he has been examining school construction documentation and most of the cost overruns – which generate documents called “change orders” – could have been prevented with good management and oversight.

The state Financial Recovery Team assigned to Red Clay in May, 2007 is overseeing expenditures and hiring decisions indefinitely.

“Look at things a little bit deeper,” Woods said. “Question more. Oversee and make sure things are done (right).

Woods, area marketing representative for Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, has lived in the Red Clay Consolidated School District all his life. He attended all Red Clay schools and graduated from Wilmington High School. His daughter, Stephanie, attended Garnett Valley, Pa. schools.

Cavanaugh, 57, of Elsmere, said he and his wife, Dawn, are both products of Red Clay schools, as he initially attended Dickinson but graduated from the newly constructed McKean High School at the time and Dawn graduated from Conrad High School. They sent their late son Charlie, daughter Christy and son Scott to Red Clay schools, with Charlie graduating from Wilmington High while the others graduated from Delcastle.

Cavanaugh, of Elsmere, said he has the experience the board needs to deal with issues coming down the road because he has seen it all before, including the pending state budget cuts to education. He is a technical assistant at DuPont Co. Research & Development.

Cavanaugh has been involved with local education since he became president of the Baltz School PTA while his son Charlie was there during the 1979-1980 school year. He won his seat’s first election when Red Clay district was formed out of the New Castle County School District in 1981. He also served as mayor of Elsmere for six years and 13 years overall on the town council.

“There’s always change needed in the district,” Cavanaugh said. “You can either be reacting to crises that pop up or be proactive.”

Wilmington resident Leah Davis, 62, who is challenging incumbent Gary C. Linarducci to represent the city, said both of her children, Ilissa and Bryan, graduated from Red Clay schools, including Alexis I. duPont High School. She taught in the district for 23 years and is knowledgeable in curriculum statewide. She retired from Highlands Elementary School.

“My two passions are my children and grandchildren, and having all children reach their potential,” Davis said. “My strengths will complement the weaknesses of other board members and hopefully their strengths will complement my weaknesses because I don’t believe anybody’s perfect. We need sound, fiscal discipline and management, equitable schools and restoring the public trust.”

Linarducci, 57, of the Highlands, said he appreciates the value of a good education and is passionate about dealing with the high school dropout rate, which he said is at least 28 percent and “unsustainable.”

“I feel very strongly that our children learn differently,” he said. “It may take some kids longer to learn the knowledge they need. But that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

An attorney with Linarducci & Butler, he spent nine years on the advisory board of Cab Calloway School of the Arts and was unopposed five years ago for his Red Clay seat. Both of his children are now in college after attending Red Clay schools, including Cab Calloway School of the Arts – eventually graduating from Archmere Academy. He is a big supporter of charter and magnet schools in order to give parents’ strong choices that allow them to pick the best schools for their children.

After opening remarks, moderator Joseph G. Amon asked questions. Among them were:

What do you think of the state budgeting system? Should it be changed and, if so, how? Do you support referenda tax to fund local school districts?

Cavanaugh said that ever since he has been on the board, districts and PTAs have tried to change the state funding mechanisms for school districts. Districts, including board members, administrators and PTAs need to work with their state legislators face to face for real change to happen.

As for referenda, there has to be major changes, he said.

“There’s one sentence in the state law that says we have to get our local money by property taxes,” he said. “I suggested we change that. Each district is unique and can get their money from various things – corporate taxes and even a small income tax as opposed to getting it just from property taxes. Nobody wants to change it.”

Davis believes Delaware is one of two states that use referenda to raise property taxes.

“It’s really hard on the district,” she said. “I agree that we have to build a partnership with legislators … to see if there are creative ways to get certain units out of our unit count – counselors, the (talented and gifted program) teachers – become state funded.” (The state provides funding for teacher positions based on enrollment counts, but it does not provide units for positions such as guidance counselors, librarians, TAG and others.)

“I think we need more flexibility with the laws regarding the way we run our schools, perhaps the length of school days or the number of days (needs to be looked at). And there’s the equalization that doesn’t seem to be too popular. … (Red Clay parent) Yvonne Johnson helped get rid of three-tiered diploma. That kind of pressure may help effect change. ”

(Equalization is where Red Clay and Brandywine, in essence, lose millions of dollars per year to the Christina and Colonial school districts as a remnant of a 1978 federal busing order that forced wealthier areas to subsidize less wealthy areas.)

Woods agreed with Cavanaugh and Davis. As someone who lobbies in Dover regularly, he said it’s important to get the state to look at how it funds 19 different school districts.

“Some of the costs could be cut by combining services,” Woods said. “Try to get the state to look at things differently. You have to meet with legislators with so many different groups, including parents, … to say, ‘There’s so much waste. Why can’t we break this down and save more so that we don’t have to go to referenda all the time?’ I don’t agree with referenda.”

Linarducci said education is the largest expenditure in the state budget, comprising one-third of the budget.

“Yet, you would think it was much smaller given that we constantly have problems and are going to referendum,” he said. “The split between the state and local districts is problematic, especially when the state allows districts and the county to keep the tax base the same since 1983 (assessments). What that does in a district like Red Clay, is that revenue only increases at 1.5 percent per year. That’s not going to provide for the type of increase that you need for salaries, technology, et cetera, (which increase 3 percent to 4 percent per year.)”

That leads people to ask why the district constantly goes out for referendum, he said. “It’s just to keep up with inflation. If there were some cost of living/inflation adjustment that the state would provide, we wouldn’t need to constantly tell the voters, ‘We need more money.”

What type of state testing do you support – the Delaware Student Testing Program or some other assessment?

The incumbents and challengers all agreed that the DSTP is inappropriate, expensive and should be replaced by a model that measures individual students’ growth and tells educators how much progress children have made through the school year.

What school program improvements do you support for Red Clay? For example, reorganization or ensuring sufficient support in the most needy schools?

Linarducci said the most needy schools need extra support. Affluent children enter school with a vocabulary of 20,000 words whereas poor children enter with a vocabulary of 5,000, a phenomenon known as “word poverty.”

“They start behind and fall further behind every year,” he said. “That is why we have so much disruption in the class. We’ve got to get resources to them earlier.”

Davis said she believes in “an equitable school district,” adding that schools with needy populations have different needs than those with affluent populations. “We need to have administrators and teachers communicate the needs of their buildings. If a child can’t read by third grade, statistically he’s likely to be a dropout. Just because a student is struggling, that doesn’t mean they’re not gifted.”

Cavanaugh he does not like “the imbalance in the district.”

“I don’t think we should have such an imbalance in our schools, where you have a super affluent set of schools in one part of the district and not so much in another,” he said. “I think you need to concentrate on what can be done in those schools, such as programs put in to attract other students to the schools. We have to do whatever it takes.”

Woods said he also dislikes the imbalance in schools. “What a change going out from the city schools out to North Star,” he said. “When you talk to parents, you don’t see equalization. Like Leah said, if you start out with a child (that can’t read), he’ll continue to be disruptive.”

In light of Red Clay’s financial situation, what are your thoughts on object code reporting and line item budgets? (Object codes tell people not just who spent the money but where it was spent.)

Linarducci wants all of Red Clay’s expenditures made public. “Put every check on the website,” he said.

Davis said she wants more open discussion from the board regarding financial matters. She also prefers line item budgets, comparing it to her own personal budget, in which she can compare what she did month to month.

Cavanaugh said the board now has monthly financial reports that track the budget throughout the year. (The reports are first reviewed by the Red Clay Community Financial Review Committee.) As for the line item budget, many years ago he discovered overspending in the district by using the line item system. “I’d like to see the object code reporting exist. But you need to see it year over year.”

Woods said he supports object code reporting because board members have to know every dollar that is spent.

Closing comments

In closing statements, Linarducci said “good intentions only take you so far.” “You need somebody … to push forward, fight for your child and look at dollars. You only have one opportunity to educate your child.”

Davis said she is the candidate for change and will be a good listener. She will push for more open discussions from the board and better communication from the district.

Cavanaugh said he is proud of what Red Clay has achieved, calling it one of the best districts in Delaware. He has been involved with education since his late son Charlie was in school and is tenacious. His experience also allows him to “know the issues from beginning to now.”

Woods said people want “someone on the board who is going to ask a lot of questions, figuring out how we got to where we are.” He said the board, which regularly approves measures with 7-0 votes, needs change. “I’m no one’s rubber stamp. I listen to everyone before making a decision.”