Editor's Note: In light of the information provided, we have removed Chris Flood's column from our website and provide this letter as a retraction of its content.
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Chris Flood and the editors at the Cape Gazette for being accountable in a rare instance when an error makes its way into print.
Flood’s column in the Feb. 9 edition incorrectly surmised that I never consulted with Sussex County government officials before introducing and passing legislation that enabled Sussex County Council to consider a voluntary school assessment, similar to the tools used by New Castle and Kent counties to balance the impacts of residential growth on their school districts.
The truth is that I discussed the VSA proposal with officials of all three counties multiple times between February and May last year. During those meetings, Sussex officials set two conditions for me to meet: one, that the VSA take the form of enabling legislation rather than a mandate; and second, that the Delaware Association of School Administrators sign off on the bill.
I met both of those conditions.
In fact, the reason my bill was filed in June was because I spent months having the very conversations that Flood claimed did not occur. Thankfully, Flood and his editors agree that the facts matter, and were gracious enough to correct the record with an editor’s note in this week’s column.
Community journalists have never before been asked to do more with less, and I am grateful we have a newspaper in our community that holds itself to a high ethical standard when it comes to reporting the facts. And when they fall short, a dialogue can occur about how we can keep our community informed.
I also hope we can continue the important conversations around voluntary school assessments as a fair and even-handed way to balance the consequences of new development on our public school districts – one that costs current residents nothing, but guarantees our school infrastructure keeps pace with new growth.
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