Education a focus of budget talks at Carney town hall in Sussex

Concerned about Delaware's $400 million budget shortfall, Sussex County residents listened to a presentation by Gov. John Carney on Wednesday.

Those in attendance expressed their concerns about the budget and what Gov. Carney called a "shared sacrifice" when it came to budget cuts.

The meeting occurred as the Joint Finance Committee slashed away millions in preparation for the June 30 deadline. Top legislators asked the committee Wednesday to momentarily pause on writing the budget because of concerns coming from citizens, according to The News Journal.  

Read More: Too many cuts stall budget meetings

A main point of concern Wednesday was education cuts for residents in the audience at Sussex Central High School, part of the Indian River School District that recently passed a $7.35 million tax referendum on the second attempt.

The calls for cuts to all education and the education sustainment fund upset several members of the audience.

"I keep hearing about sacrifice, and I know with the education sustainment fund cuts are a relatively small portion of this budget, but to Delaware schools, its elimination would send shockwaves that will ripple through our communities, and it's going to affect our students," said Billie Criswell, one of the individuals in attendance.

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Carney replied by saying the cuts to the education sustainment fund can be made up by the districts enacting the 12-cent raise in the match tax.

Criswell held up a sign that said "Pass the match tax yourself" in response. 

More concerns followed, as Gov. Carney listened to his constituents as they voiced their concerns about the upcoming budget.

In attendance at the event, along with Carney, was Sen. Brian Pettyjohn and Sen. Gerald Hocker as well as Rep. Ruth Briggs-King, Rep. Richard Collins and Rep. Roland Gray.

"Personally, I think with the number of smart people we have in the state, and the feedback that is given to the state government, we are going to find a way out of this budget issue that we are having," said Sen. Pettyjohn.

Most of the town hall was dedicated to Carney laying out the budget and explaining his rational for the cuts to those in attendance.

The goal of the governor's budget is to erase the state's $400 million budget hole and Carney's called for a "shared sacrifice" among state agencies — as well as making state employees contribute more to their health care, saving the state $10 million.

READ MORE: Sussex County proposes $143 million budget

On Tuesday, the Joint Finance Committee axed $30 million from the budget. Technically, the joint finance committee's budget plan, like Carney's proposal, is only a recommendation that the full House and Senate must vote on. However, the General Assembly rarely makes major changes to the committee's blueprint.

The Department of Education took the biggest hit Tuesday, losing $15.9 million. The State Board of Education would lose all funding and be shut down.

The board is responsible for opening and closing charter schools and for approving education-related regulations. Legislators said the Department of Education would be asked to find a way to absorb those responsibilities.

However, audience members, such as Criswell, were not satisfied with parts of the governor's plan.

"Where is the shared sacrifice?" she asked.

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Education was not the only budget issue discussed at the meeting.

Several people mentioned establishing a sales tax, to which Gov. Carney said he had no intention of doing so.

An increase to the gas tax, too, was mentioned by Dominic Miller, a Millsboro resident.

"Right now, we have the 12th lowest gas tax in the nation at 23 cents per gallon," Miller said. "Our neighboring states have taxes between 33 cents and 58 cents per gallon. From our sales from 2015, every two cents made $10 million. So if we raise it up to the national average of 30.1 cents per gallon, it is still very competitive...so it's something to think about."

Gov. Carney, though, said he had no interest in raising the gas tax, either.

He compared the gas tax to fees such as registration fees and license fees.

"I believe all those different fees like the gas tax should stay the same," he sad. "We heard that before, but we just don't believe it's the best way to raise revenue."

The News Journal's Matthew Albright contributed to this report.

rghughes@delmarvanow.com

On Twitter @hughesg19