Christina School Board votes to rejoin Delaware School Boards Association, agrees to reimburse members who paid for training

The Christina School Board voted to rejoin the Delaware School Boards Association (DSBA) and approved reimbursement for members who paid for DSBA training while the district was not an active member. The motion was offered by Donald Patton, revised and renewed during discussion, and seconded by Douglas Manley; the roll call on the final motion recorded six votes in favor and one vote against.

Board members who supported rejoining said DSBA had expanded its offerings and that a prorated fee for the remainder of the year (discussed in the meeting as roughly $11,000 after prorating) would restore access to ongoing training and statewide legislative connections. “I made the motion that we rejoin the DSBA and refund any member who had paid to go to a DSBA function over the years that we were not an active member,” a board member said while presenting the revised motion.

Opponents and earlier critics noted prior reasons for withdrawal — chiefly cost and perceived value — but the board concluded the current DSBA offerings and a prorated fee justified return membership. The meeting record shows a roll-call tally of six yes and one no and that the motion passed.

The meeting transcript records discussion of past practice, a proposed prorated payment for the current year, and the board’s direction that the district consider reimbursement for members who previously paid individually for DSBA training in years when the district was not a member. The board did not, during this meeting, record the precise dollar amount to be paid from district funds or the administrative mechanism and timeline for reimbursements; those details will require follow-up work by the district’s finance or legal staff.