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Red Clay officials propose new high‑school attendance zones, plan town halls and feedback
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Summary
District staff presented a University of Delaware–informed redraw of high‑school attendance zones intended to create straight‑line feeders and balance enrollments; board members requested raw data, transportation cost analysis and GIS maps before a July vote is recommended.
District staff presented recommended high‑school attendance‑zone changes and a public timeline on April 15, proposing new feeder patterns to align K–8 boundaries with high schools, balance enrollment (target ~1,000 students per school) and preserve space for specialized programs such as Meadowood.
Mark Pruitt, who led the attendance‑zone work, said the district partnered with the University of Delaware’s Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research to model outcomes and projections. Director of technology Sean Snyder said the modeling considered geography, school capacity, Meadowood space needs and demographic breakdowns; the most likely projection cited in the presentation put AI High School at about 1,124 students and John Dickinson High School at about 916 under the recommended plan.
Pruitt noted the plan would grandfather approximately 120 students in the classes of 2028–2030 who would be given a choice to remain at Dickinson through graduation (transportation provided) or move to the new attendance zone at AI DuPont High School. The district proposed a public feedback period in May, two town halls (one in Wilmington, one at McCain), a June update to the board and a July vote, with September 2026 communication to families if adopted.
Board members pressed for the raw UD data and the methodology used to draw lines; several trustees said they wanted GIS mapping so individual households can determine their assigned high school. One board member asked whether transportation cost and rerouting analysis was included; staff replied the UD consultant did not complete a transportation cost analysis and that overlay work would be required to assess routing impacts.
Trustees also raised demographic concerns and noted school choice complicates projections because magnet and charter programs draw students unpredictably. The presenter acknowledged that the plan does not include out‑of‑district choice students in initial projections and that choice behavior may change results.
Next steps: the district will post materials for feedback, plan town halls and provide additional data and mapping to the board; trustees asked for the UD contact and the raw datasets to review the modeling assumptions prior to a final vote.
