Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings that are happening this week.
Below are some of the more important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- How will Delaware pay for schools? (Statewide)
- Port oversight group meets following audit (Statewide)
- Dover considers panhandling ban (Kent)
- Georgetown votes on tiny homes (Sussex)
How should Delaware fund its schools?
A group designing Delaware’s new formula for funding schools will vote today on its proposed model, after hearing input last week from the public.
Delaware’s public education funding currently follows what officials call a unit-count system, which distributes money to districts based on the number of students enrolled.
The Public Education Funding Commission has proposed a formula that would supplement the unit-count system with new categories that direct additional dollars to schools with large numbers of low-income students or those who don’t speak English as a first language.
📍 The Public Education Funding Commission is scheduled to meet virtually from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
Georgetown to decide the future of tiny homes
After weeks of public debate and scrutiny, Georgetown leaders will vote on Monday on whether to allow the construction of tiny home communities within town limits.
The vote comes on the heels of a growing discourse among members of a Facebook group called Make Georgetown Great Again about how town council members should address the area’s homeless population.
As part of that ongoing conversation, the Georgetown-based nonprofit Little Living – which would require town council to pass its tiny home ordinance in order to move forward with its planned community – has faced a mounting opposition from residents.
📍 The Georgetown Town Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday inside Town Hall, located at 39 The Circle in Georgetown. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
Port of Wilmington audit reverberations
Delaware’s port oversight board will meet on Thursday for the first time since State Auditor Lydia York presented findings from her office’s audit of the Port of Wilmington.
York’s audit claimed the board of the Diamond State Port Corporation had improperly held meetings in secret; had misled the public about the port’s true condition; did not hold sufficient oversight meetings with the port’s current and past private operators; and relied on outdated jobs projections for a planned port expansion.
Delaware Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez – who serves as the current chair of Diamond State Port Corporation board – said in an emailed statement to Spotlight Delaware that the audit report “contained significant factual inaccuracies.”
Now, the corporation’s finance committee and board of directors will each meet on Thursday afternoon to approve the organization’s operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
📍 The Diamond State Port Corporation’s finance committee is scheduled meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Virtual attendance information can be found here. The corporation’s board of directors is scheduled to subsequently meet at 3 p.m. Virtual attendance information for that meeting can be found here. Both meetings will take place at Buena Vista, located at 661 S. Dupont Highway in New Castle.
Dover mulls panhandling ban
Dover city leaders will continue to consider a ban on panhandling this week, as city council introduces an amended version of its proposed ordinance to ban the practice within city limits on Monday.
Dover City Council asked staff members last month to revise the proposal – which would ban stopping on street medians and crosswalks, prohibit pedestrians from soliciting money and criminalize drivers giving money to panhandlers – after leaders were notified by the ACLU of Delaware that the civil rights organization believed the ordinance, as written, was unconstitutional.
Council members have cited safety as a reason for the ordinance. But activists from the Delaware H.O.M.E.S. Campaign said it amounts to criminalizing poverty.
While the council will introduce the amended ordinance this week, council members will not vote on it until Jan. 12, 2026.
📍 The Dover City Council is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday inside Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 15 Loockerman Plaza in Dover. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
Karl Baker, Julia Merola & Maggie Reynolds contributed to this report.
