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Laurel School District, Delaware, elections

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Laurel School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 2,598 (2022-2023)
Schools: 4 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Laurel School District is a school district in Delaware (Sussex County). During the 2023 school year, 2,598 students attended one of the district's four schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Laurel School District, At-large

General election

General election for Laurel School District, At-large

Jana Pugh ran in the general election for Laurel School District, At-large on May 13, 2025.

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Jana Pugh (Nonpartisan)

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Laurel School District, At-large

General election

General election for Laurel School District, At-large

Kim Ralph ran in the general election for Laurel School District, At-large on May 14, 2024.

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Kim Ralph (Nonpartisan)

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Laurel School District, At-large

General election

General election for Laurel School District, At-large

Ivy Bonk and Sabrina Isler ran in the general election for Laurel School District, At-large on May 9, 2023.

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Ivy Bonk (Nonpartisan)
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Sabrina Isler (Nonpartisan)

There are no incumbents in this race.

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Delaware are held on the second Tuesday in May every year.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072

Recent or upcoming election dates for all regular public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all regular public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: March 6, 2026
  • General election date: May 12, 2026

Election system

School board members in Delaware are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries. In the case of a tie vote, another election must be held on the third Saturday in June following the May general election.

Members of the board of education for vocational-technical school districts in Delaware are appointed by the governor not elected.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1072
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1051

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Delaware are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Delaware Statute states, "For the election of school board members, the names of all filed candidates shall be listed alphabetically without political party designation."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1076

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1083

Term length and staggering

School board members in Delaware are elected to four-year terms. A 2021 bill changed the length of school board terms from five years to four years starting with 2022 elections and going forward. The 2021 bill changing school board term lengths from five years to four years was designed to allow the completion of five-year terms that had already begun.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069


Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

By default, the board members of school districts in Delaware are elected at large by all voters in the district. However, state law provides specifically for five districts to elect school board members by sub-district and two districts to elect school board members through a combination of at-large and by-subdistrict seats.

The board members of Cape Henlopen School District and Milford School School District are elected through a combination of four seats by sub-district and three seats at large.

The board members of Brandywine School District, Christina School District, Colonial School District, and Red Clay School District are elected one each from seven different sub-districts. The board members of Indian River School District are elected two each from five different sub-districts.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066, 1068, and 1069
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1069
and Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1066 and 1068

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

School board candidates must file notices of candidacy by 4:30 pm on the first Friday in March before the election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Section 1075


Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first day of July following their election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Delaware Statutes Title 14, Chapter 10, Sections 1052, 1066, 1068, and 1069

 


About the district

School board

The Laurel School District consists of five members serving five-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Kim Ralph20242028
Sabrina Isler2027
Linda Hitchens2026
Brent Nichols2026
Jana Pugh2025

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Laurel School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Delaware House of Representatives District 40Timothy DukesRepublican Party 87% 62%
Delaware House of Representatives District 39Daniel ShortRepublican Party 8% 12%
Delaware House of Representatives District 41Richard CollinsRepublican Party 4% 4%
Delaware House of Representatives District 37Valerie Jones GiltnerRepublican Party 1% 1%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $3,914,000 $1,537 11%
Local: $6,404,000 $2,515 18%
State: $26,153,000 $10,272 72%
Total: $36,471,000 $14,325
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $34,028,000 $13,365
Total Current Expenditures: $31,986,000 $12,563
Instructional Expenditures: $18,370,000 $7,215 54%
Student and Staff Support: $4,731,000 $1,858 14%
Administration: $3,140,000 $1,233 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $5,745,000 $2,256 17%
Total Capital Outlay: $294,000 $115
Construction: $229,000 $89
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $0 $0
Interest on Debt: $531,000 $208

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 15 40-59 <=5 10-14 <50 <=5 22
2018-2019 37 >=50 23 30-34 40-59 20-24 47
2017-2018 39 60-79 27 35-39 <50 30-34 46
2016-2017 37 <50 22 30-34 >=50 25-29 47
2015-2016 29 40-59 17 25-29 <50 11-19 37
2014-2015 22 21-39 13 15-19 PS <=20 28
2013-2014 59 >=80 48 50-54 PS 60-79 65
2012-2013 60 >=80 44 55-59 PS 60-79 68
2011-2012 70 >=80 58 70-74 >=50 60-79 74
2010-2011 51 60-79 35 40-44 PS 40-59 58

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 27 60-79 10-14 20-24 <50 15-19 35
2018-2019 46 >=50 36 40-44 21-39 30-34 56
2017-2018 49 >=80 37 45-49 <50 35-39 58
2016-2017 41 >=50 29 35-39 <50 20-24 50
2015-2016 39 60-79 25 35-39 <50 20-29 48
2014-2015 35 40-59 21 25-29 PS <=20 44
2013-2014 65 >=80 54 55-59 PS 60-79 72
2012-2013 67 60-79 55 50-54 PS 60-79 75
2011-2012 70 >=80 57 80-84 >=50 60-79 75
2010-2011 50 60-79 30-34 35-39 PS 21-39 58

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 80-84 PS 70-79 60-79 PS 85-89
2018-2019 80-84 PS 70-79 60-79 PS 85-89
2017-2018 80-84 PS 70-79 >=50 PS >=50 85-89
2016-2017 80-84 PS 70-79 >=50 PS >=50 85-89
2015-2016 75-79 70-79 >=50 PS PS 70-74
2014-2015 80-84 PS 80-89 >=50 80-84
2013-2014 75-79 PS 70-79 >=50 PS 70-74
2012-2013 60-64 PS 50-59 PS 60-64
2011-2012 65-69 PS 60-69 PS 60-64
2010-2011 75-79 PS 70-79 >=50 PS 75-79

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 2,598 1.2
2021-2022 2,566 0.8
2020-2021 2,546 -3.9
2019-2020 2,645 4.7
2018-2019 2,521 2.9
2017-2018 2,449 3.6
2016-2017 2,362 6.0
2015-2016 2,221 2.4
2014-2015 2,168 2.4
2013-2014 2,116 2.5
2012-2013 2,064 -4.4
2011-2012 2,155 -1.8
2010-2011 2,194 1.7
2009-2010 2,156 3.0
2008-2009 2,092 0.9
2007-2008 2,073 -0.1
2006-2007 2,076 -2.6
2005-2006 2,131 4.3
2004-2005 2,040 1.6
2003-2004 2,008 0.3
2002-2003 2,001 2.0
2001-2002 1,961 -7.5
2000-2001 2,108 -1.3
1999-2000 2,135 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Laurel School District (%) Delaware K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.4 0.4
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.7 4.3
Black 23.3 30.5
Hispanic 23.3 19.0
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.2
Two or More Races 8.1 5.2
White 43.0 40.5

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Laurel School District had 165.40 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.71.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 9.00
Elementary: 88.20
Secondary: 68.20
Total: 165.40

Laurel School District employed 4.00 district administrators and 11.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 4.00
District Administrative Support: 2.00
School Administrators: 11.00
School Administrative Support: 6.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 61.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 6.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 7.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 3.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 4.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.50
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 8.50
Other Support Services: 38.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Laurel School District operates four schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Laurel Elementary School1,1241-6
Laurel Middle School4737-8
Laurel Senior High School7479-12
North Laurel Early Learning Academy254PK-KG

About school boards

Education legislation in Delaware

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Delaware
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External links

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
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