§ 222 — Wilmington Neighborhood Schools Committee

(a) The Wilmington Neighborhood Schools Committee shall consist of 17 members, as follows:

(1) Two members designated by the Mayor of the City of Wilmington;

(2) Three members designated by the President of City Council for the City of Wilmington;

(3) One member designated by the Governor with such member being a resident of the City of Wilmington;

(4) One member designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate with such member being a resident of the City of Wilmington;

(5) One member designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives with such member being a resident of the City of Wilmington;

(6) Two members representing the Wilmington business community designated by the Mayor;

(7) One member from a community based organization designated by the Mayor;

(8) One member from a community based organization designated by the President of City Council;

(9) One member from each of the 4 school boards with such persons serving from a Wilmington nominating district; and

(10) One member residing in the City of Wilmington and representing the New Castle County Vo-Tech School District.

(b) Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the holder of the office or the entity having the authority to appoint the member to the Committee. The Chairperson of the Committee shall be designated by the Mayor from the 17 members and serve as Chairperson at the pleasure of the Mayor. The majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum and no motion or resolution of the Committee may be adopted without the approval of a majority of its members.

(c) The Committee shall not be compensated but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary travel expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its official duties. Funding for the research and analysis required by this section shall also be provided by the Department of Education.

(d) The Committee shall review and analyze current public school feeder patterns, current resource allocations among the districts, current populations of children residing in the City of Wilmington attending public schools, and population projections for children residing in the City of Wilmington likely to attend public schools in the future.

(e) Based on the information and analysis, the Committee shall submit recommendations to the Mayor of the City of Wilmington and the City Council by January 3, 2001, concerning the creation of a Wilmington School District, neighborhood schools within the current district configurations, or neighborhood schools under some alternative district configuration. The recommendations shall identify specific time lines for implementation as well as specific actions, legislative or otherwise, required to implement the recommendations. The recommendations shall also estimate the costs or savings both in terms of capital expense and/or operational expense based on existing unit count allocations and the required local match. Prior to submitting the recommendations, the Committee shall hold at least 5 public hearings to take testimony and questions from members of the public and other interested stakeholders.

(f) Upon review and consideration of the Committee’s recommendations, the City Council and the Mayor of the City of Wilmington shall forward their plan on behalf of the City of Wilmington to the General Assembly by March 15, 2001. The plan shall identify specific time lines for implementation as well as specific actions, legislative or otherwise, required to implement the recommendations. The plan shall also estimate the costs or savings both in terms of capital expense and/or operational expense based on existing unit count allocations and the required local match. The General Assembly shall act on the plan by June 30, 2001.

Legislative History

72 Del. Laws, c. 287, § 2