The Christina School District is in the process of declaring 300 Executive Drive in Glasgow as excess property.
Years ago, the district bought the Astro Power Building located in the Pencader Corporate Center, intending to use it for a middle school. However, a few years ago, enrollment started dropping, and University of Delaware’s Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research has predicted enrollment will remain flat over the next five years, said Christina district spokeswoman Wendy Lapham.
Christina once routinely enrolled 20,000 students. Today, it's slightly more than 17,000. The largest one-year drop occurred during the 2006-2007 school year with a loss of 1,200. District officials have blamed competition from charter schools, the neighborhood schools plan and a new middle school in the city of Wilmington.
“There’s an interest in the community seeing the building sold in order to generate income for the district,” Lapham said. An appraisal of the building has not been completed yet.
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Christina enrollment 2006-07 18,495 2007-08 17,292 2008-09 17,200 |
Per state law, Christina will offer the Astro building to the state, then to New Castle County, and then put it on the open market if neither government bodies want it, said Kelli Racca, Christina’s Director Facilities Services.
“There has been significant interest in the building and that is no surprise,” Racca said. “It is a terrific building in a great location and the district is very hopeful that we will be able to make something come together that will benefit all parties involved.”
