Cape district receives $1.76 million state grant

The Cape Henlopen school board voted unanimously July 11, to approve an opportunity flex funding waiver that allows the district to use a $1.76 million grant across all schools, rather than specific allotted amounts for each building.

In 2019, the state first announced the funding initiative to support multilingual learners and low-income students, said Director of Teaching and Learning LouAnn Hudson. Funding amounts are determined by the annual Sept. 30 unit count; a total of 6,587 students were enrolled in district schools at that time.

In 2022, Hudson said the state changed the rules for use of the funds and wanted districts to use the money on a per-building basis unless they received a waiver from the school board allowing the use of funds to support positions district-wide.

This year, she said the state is allocating $987.50 per multilingual learner or low-income student. If a student meets both those classifications, the district receives only one portion per student, she said.

The waiver will allow the district to use 100% of the funds district-wide to support current initiatives, including multilingual learner teachers in each building, a district multilingual learner specialist, additional mental health support and a bilingual social worker, Hudson said.