Governor Carney Announces Leadership Change at Delaware Department of Education (DOE)

October 6, 2021

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday announced that Dr. Susan Bunting will leave her position as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) in December after nearly five decades of service in Delaware public education.

Dr. Bunting, who was confirmed as Secretary by the Delaware Senate in January 2017, spent the previous four decades in the Indian River School District. She began her Indian River career in 1977 as a language arts teacher and later led the district as Superintendent from 2006-2017, including being named Delaware Superintendent of the Year. She has not announced her next steps but intends to remain involved in educator training and development.

Her successor has not yet been named.

“Dr. Bunting is respected across our state, and no one was better suited to lead the Department of Education over these past five years,” said Governor Carney. “Susan has spent a lifetime dedicated to public education in Delaware, and the people of our state have been lucky to have her at the helm. No one has made a bigger impact than Susan on preparing the next generation of Delaware educators and helping them grow into effective teacher-leaders. Most importantly, I want to thank Susan for her tireless dedication to Delaware’s students, especially those most in need. Her public service and dedication to the success of all Delaware children is unmatched.”

During her tenure at the Department of Education, Secretary Bunting oversaw the creation and expansion of Opportunity Funding, Delaware’s first weighted student funding program. The program targets support for low-income and English learner students.

She transformed the Department of Education into an agency focused on supporting educators and schools. Over the past 19 months, she oversaw the Department’s efforts to vaccinate thousands of educators and child care providers, while helping districts and charter schools continue to educate children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before her confirmation in 2017, Dr. Bunting led Indian River School district, one of the state’s largest school districts, serving more than 11,000 students. After teaching in Maryland for several years, she joined Indian River in 1977 as a middle school language arts teacher.

Secretary Bunting was named Indian River’s Teacher of the Year in 1985. She served as Supervisor of Elementary Instruction and later as Director of Instruction before being named Superintendent in 2006. As Delaware’s 2012 Superintendent of the Year, Secretary Bunting was one of four finalists for the American Association of School Administrators’ National Superintendent of the Year award.