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Community and board discuss attendance-zone equity and concern over AI High enrollment
Summary
A public commenter urged Red Clay officials to address outdated feeder patterns that leave AI High School understaffed and underenrolled; the board's Secondary Attendance Zone, Enrollment and Program committee is studying enrollment patterns and facility usage.
A member of the public and board committee members raised concerns March 19 about attendance-zone imbalances and the low enrollment at AI High School.
Charles Lacherman, speaking for Friends of AI during public comment, said the district's feeder patterns are outdated and leave AI High with about 550 students while other schools exceed capacity. "You can't have Dickinson and McCain thriving at a thousand students... and AI is only at 550 students," Lacherman told the board. He said he had heard "rumblings in the past couple months of closing AI" and called such a move "a travesty," urging the district to consider consolidating zones to equalize enrollment.
The board's Secondary Attendance Zone, Enrollment and Program Committee reported active work on attendance‑zone and program equity. Board members and staff described a series of community meetings and data reviews intended to inform any reconfiguration. Committee members said they had reviewed middle‑school instructional capacity, enrollment patterns and facility usage and were gathering additional data and community input, with a focus on ensuring Wilmington families are well represented in the discussion.
Mister Leonard, a committee member, said the group is brainstorming possible solutions and acknowledged the process would be lengthy. Committee members said the work must account for variables beyond local control, including potential charter expansions and state funding decisions. The committee plans further meetings and additional data collection to refine options before any formal proposal is presented to the full board.
What is next: Committee members urged additional outreach and emphasized the work will likely span multiple meetings. The committee will continue to gather enrollment and capacity data and solicit community input at upcoming sessions; details and meeting dates are listed in BoardDocs.
