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More than a dozen Delaware public schools, mostly in New Castle County, are operating at less than 60% capacity, according to data from . 

Five of those are more than half empty.

The phenomenon of half-empty school buildings has prompted Delaware鈥檚 House Speaker Mimi Minor Brown (D-New Castle) to question whether they 鈥� or other underutilized government facilities 鈥� could be repurposed into different types of community facilities. 

Last week, Minor-Brown introduced  that asks budget officials to develop a framework, along with school districts, that would define an 鈥渦nderutilized鈥� property. They would then outline a process for repurposing it for other community services, such as child care or senior housing. 

In a  earlier this month, Minor-Brown said her resolution would not close any school or take power from local school board members. Instead, she said it starts a 鈥渃oordinated planning conversation.鈥�

The resolution, which awaits consideration in the Senate after passing the House, comes as enrollment in several schools in New Castle County has dwindled even it has surged in some southern Delaware districts.

The phenomenon has been fueled by several factors, including an expansion of charter schools in New Castle County and changes to bus patterns that allow students to attend schools outside of their community.

Among the hardest hit schools are Alexis I. duPont High School in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, which is 53% occupied, and the Colonial School District鈥檚 Castle Hills Elementary School, which is 48% occupied. 

Minor-Brown鈥檚 resolution also comes as Delaware officials work to reform how the state funds individual schools 鈥� moving its funding formula away from one primarily reflects enrollment sizes.  

Empty seats raise questions

While Minor-Brown calls on officials to use enrollment data as a factor in determining underused properties, some school officials say occupancy rates may not actually reflect how much a school is actually being used.

Colonial School District Superintendent Jeff Menzer said capacity numbers are not 鈥渃ut and dry,鈥� because some students need more space than others depending on their individual needs.

One classroom could be designed for 25 students, with one teacher and one paraprofessional. But if five students within the class are struggling with reading, there may be a need for more space to provide tutoring, Menzer said.

As a result, Menzer said some schools that have lower recorded enrollments than others are still overcrowded because of some students鈥� needs for more inclusive settings.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 necessarily trust that [capacity] number 100%,鈥� he said.

While Minor-Brown鈥檚 proposal also does not define what would qualify as underutilized, one school administrator said officials should take note when certain high schools enroll less than 800 students. 

In an email, Red Clay Director of Secondary Education Mark Pruitt said officials should hold early conversations when a high school that offers academic and career technical programs has an enrollment below 800 students. 

Those early conversations should involve what Pruitt called 鈥渟ustainable programming,鈥� and the staffing needed to support that programming. 

What comes next?

Minor-Brown鈥檚 resolution follows years of questions surrounding what could happen to schools with lower capacities. It also follows a multi-year study into the best way to oversee schools in Wilmington, Delaware鈥檚 largest city.

Last year, a state committee tasked with reworking school district boundaries  the four school districts serving Wilmington. That recommendation  whether it would result in the closure of high schools in the Wilmington area. 

Redding Consortium co-chair State Sen. Elizabeth 鈥淭izzy鈥� Lockman (D-Wilmington)  that low school enrollment is something that 鈥渃an and will be taken in consideration as part of the planning.鈥� 

Questions about how to use school buildings have also surfaced in the Red Clay Consolidated School District, where Alexis I. duPont High School has experienced a steep enrollment decline over the past 14 years and is now the state鈥檚 smallest traditional high school by enrollment.

Community members have pointed to several possible reasons for the decline, including changes to school-choice transportation, limits on choice admissions and growing competition from charter and private schools.

In response, district leaders have explored ways to increase enrollment at the school.

Earlier this spring, the district鈥檚 school board attempted to transform McKean High School into an 鈥渋nnovation campus.鈥� 

If passed, the measure to create McKean innovation center , reducing the number of traditional high schools in the district from three to two, and increasing enrollment numbers at A.I. duPont High School and at The John Dickinson School. 

The plan would also have moved the district鈥檚 Meadowood program for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities from McKean to A.I. duPont.

But the plan drew months of opposition from parents who said the Meadowood program had become overlooked in discussions about enrollment and school planning.

 said Meadowood helps their children work on social skills, such as conversation starters, and learn how to do tasks like washing dishes.

Following the public backlash, the Red Clay school board voted in April to postpone the proposal.

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