Why Should Delaware Care?
Hundreds of children in New Castle County rely on Police Athletic League of Delaware facilities for its programs or its gymnasium. The nonprofit is also one of dozens of private organizations that are regularly funded by taxpayers. But today, its youth operations face uncertainty after the state froze its latest round of grants.
Police officers are taking over leadership roles at the Police Athletic League of Delaware, a taxpayer-funded nonprofit facing upheaval after its executive director – former House Speaker Valerie Longhurst – resigned earlier this month.
Last week, New Castle County’s police chief, Col. Jamie Leonard, became chair of the organization, while an officer within his department – Lt. Angela Dolan – became its interim-executive director, replacing Longhurst.
The leadership changes came days after Spotlight Delaware reported that Longhurst’s resignation followed state officials’ decision to freeze more than $500,000 in grants that lawmakers had awarded to the PAL of Delaware – as it is commonly known.
Board members at the troubled organization also said that Longhurst’s resignation came as the organization’s cash reserves had unexpectedly dwindled.
In recent years, government grants had sustained the PAL of Delaware, with contributions from state and county taxpayers appearing to peak in 2024 at about $5 million. By contrast, the organization regularly took in about a half-million dollars in total contributions and grants annually prior to the COVID pandemic.
In an interview with Spotlight Delaware on Friday, Leonard confirmed that the PAL of Delaware has “cash-flow problems,” though he said an accountant would have to perform a detailed financial analysis to determine whether anyone had acted inappropriately.
Pressed on why the nonprofit would be in dire straits given recent money from taxpayers, Leonard said he is still “trying to wrap his head around that.” He noted that much of the grants in past years were dedicated for construction and other capital projects.
“But, notwithstanding, here are the brass tacks … the operating expenditures outpaced the revenue,” he said.
Though Leonard recently became board chair, he previously served as a regular board member for a few months this year while Longhurst headed the organization.
Although they share a common name, the PAL of Delaware is a separate entity with separate governance from the Police Athletic League of Wilmington and the Police Athletic League of Dover.
Like those other organizations and others across the county, the PAL of Delaware operates athletic, arts and academic programs for children throughout the year. It does so at community center locations in Hockessin, Delaware City and suburban New Castle – all settings that put children in contact with law enforcement.
Leonard noted that some staff had been laid off from the the PAL of Delaware this year, and that its locations in Delaware City and New Castle had closed temporarily for a brief time in the early summer.
Today, all three locations are currently operating with regular schedules. On Monday afternoon, a handful of children played basketball on one court within a gymnasium at the facility in the Garfield Park neighborhood of suburban New Castle.
On the other side of the court, a police officer shot a basketball with another child.
Within the adjacent lobby of the New Castle facility are several paintings of past Delaware police officers, including one of Rep. Frank Cooke (D-New Castle) sitting atop a horse.
Cooke also currently sits on the PAL of Delaware’s board of directors, along with Rep. Mike Smith (R-Newark).
Their positions with the nonprofit highlight it as an integral piece of Delaware’s political landscape. Up until last year, it also was one of several prominent Delaware organizations led by a state lawmaker.
That ended last September when Longhurst – then among the most powerful politicians in Delaware – surprisingly lost her seat representing the Bear area to now-Rep. Kamela Smith, a Democrat, after just a year in the top spot for the House.
Police investigation ‘remains a possibility’
Earlier this month, Spotlight Delaware spoke with several other board members of the PAL of Delaware, who also indicated that Longhurst’s resignation came as the organization was facing a lean financial future.
None seemed to know precisely why, beyond what they described as general difficulties in raising money in the nonprofit sector today
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro, who is also a PAL board member and former county sheriff, said in a statement earlier this month that Longhurst’s resignation came after “board concerns about how the PAL had been operated.”
Navarro did not respond to follow-up questions outlining those concerns.
Brian Moore, who served as the board chair until last week, said Longhurst was not asked to resign. He also said he didn’t believe Longhurst stepped down because of any financial precarity at the PAL of Delaware.
“Frankly, Val resigned because, at least what she told us was, it was time for her to move on. Her tenure was done,” he said.
Leonard who has now replaced Moore as board chair, said his successor was replaced because “the board needed to go in a different direction.”
The new direction, he said, would be “a focus on the kids” as well as a re-emphasis on collaborations with police officers. He said previous leaders never asked his department for more officers to be involved.
”There seems to have been an effort to take the police out of the PAL,” he said.
Leading the new operations will be Dolan, the interim-executive director replacing Longhurst.
“I gotta get Lt. Dolan in there and actually get the things running on the day-to-day,” Leonard said.
When asked, Leonard said her role will not be to investigate what led the PAL to its current financial situation.
Still, when asked if there is any police investigation being conducted by his department, he said, “Not currently, but it remains a possibility.”