UPDATE: DID DOE LIE ABOUT THE EMAIL SENT TO PENCADER PARENTS?

By Elizabeth Scheinberg

UPDATE: A pencader parent contacted me to inform me that the following letter/email was NOT mass distributed. Parent states it was sent only to those who contacted DOE directly and that The PARENTS IN GENERAL have not received any OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION from DOE regarding the APRIL 30 threat of CLOSURE.

DID DOE REPS LIE TO THE STATE BOARD? IDK for sure, but it's concerning that so many are accusing DOE of repeatedly lying on different issues, especially when speaking into the formal record. SBE - BEWARE the hand that feeds you.

During yesterday's SBE meeting, DOE officials referenced an email sent to Pencader parents in response to a letter/email sent by school leadership revealing a fiscal deficit that could result in (among other things) early closure of school on April 30, 2013. Various news sources have covered the impending fiscal crunch from Newsworks to a varied error-rich NJ story to the blogosphere. However, none reported or blogged on the emails sent by DOE to the parents of students at the school. It would appear that the news sources were unaware of the email's existence.

I received the content of email w/o the date/time stamp upon request this morning from the Delaware Department of Education. In an effort to further transparency on this issue, I now provide it to the public:

Dear Parents:

Earlier this week Pencader Board leadership sent a letter to parents indicating 
that the school may need to close early to meet financial obligations through 
the summer. The state and local school districts fully funded Pencader based on 
its full student count for the 2012-13 school year. Pencader received 100 
percent of the funds to pay its staff salaries and all components of its 
accepted budget. Despite warnings from the state and conversations about the 
careful management of its funds and prioritization of expenses during Delaware 
Department of Education’s (DDOE) regular meetings with Pencader since the start 
of this year, the school has overspent its budget in some of its categories.  
Pencader has a duty to compensate its teachers and to educate its students for 
the duration of this school year.  DDOE is working with Pencader to evaluate all 
of its current spending to best meet its financial obligations and allow the 
students to finish out the year. Earlier this week the school received guidance 
via a memo from the Office of Management and Budget on possible internal 
solutions that should be taken to ensure that resources remain available to 
cover their obligations. In our continued conversations with the school, we have 
conveyed that Pencader’s students must be the leadership’s priority and closing 
the school early is not an option. The state will continue to work with school 
leadership on their financial planning as they conclude the school year.

Delaware Department of Education

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