DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The Townsend Building

401 Federal Street Suite 2
Dover, Delaware 19901-3639
DOE WEBSITE: http://www.doe.k12.de.us

Mark T. Murphy
Secretary of Education
Voice: (302) 735-4000
FAX: (302) 739-4654

December 6, 2014
Dr. Freeman Williams
Christina School District
600 N. Lombard Street
Wilmington, DE 19801

Dear Dr. Williams,

This is notification that Christina School District is out of compliance with Regulation 103 of Title 14.
This regulation currently states the following: if the LEA and the collective bargaining unit cannot reach
agreement with respect to necessary changes to the collective bargaining agreement within 75 days, the
LEA and the collective bargaining unit must each provide their last offer to the Delaware Secretary of
Education, who will then have final authority to select one of those options for implementation. If the
Secretary does not find that either of the options is satisfactory, (s)he may send the parties back to
continue negotiations for an additional 30 days. If agreement is not reached in that timeframe, the LEA
will be forced to enter an MOU selecting a different model.
Although advanced notification and reminders were provided to Christina School District in September
and November, followed by a request for compliance in December, the State has not received the required
documents in the seventy-five day time frame, nor has it received an extension request to continue
negotiations.
This puts Christina School District out of compliance with its obligations for the Priority School
work. The district is again requested to submit an extension request as soon as possible to allow for local
conversations and dialogue to continue. However, if such an extension request, or collective bargaining
proposal is not received by December 12, 2014, the Department of Education may take further action to
ensure the district is in compliance and its teachers are afforded the necessary protections.
Christina School District must submit its collective bargaining proposal by Day 105 to prevent the
Delaware Department of Education from acting on its required duty.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,

Penny Schwinn

Penny Schwinn
Chief Accountability and Performance Officer
Delaware Department of Education

THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. IT DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEX,
SEXUAL ORIENTATION, MARITAL STATUS, DISABILITY, AGE OR VIETNAM ERA VETERANS STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT, OR ITS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.