LEWES, Del. - The Cape Henlopen School District has been clear it needs more space. As part of the school's expansion, means relocating the district office. It's selected a 103-acre parcel of land it wants to buy at the cost of $15.5 million.
The property would be home to the new district office, a bus facility, and swimming pool.
The proposed location is currently farm land just off of Plantation Road and Cedar Grove Road.Â
The district said they chose this property because it is about where the Delaware Department of Transportation's road improvements will take place. This would allow more flexibility in creating access points to the new district office.
40 percent of the costs to relocate and renovate would be left to taxpayers and 60 percent would be left to the state.
Johanna Newman has a daughter going into first grade this year. She knows the district office is too small but thinks this is too expensive.
"The expansion that they're talking about seems very big and I'm just not sure if the size of the school district and administration would warrant such a huge budget and huge expansion." said Newman.
Joelle Touw has three daughters in school. She said while costly, a proactive solution is the right one,
"Looking down the road with all of the new families moving into the area, the school district needs to plan ahead and be ready to have the space for the kids in the schools."
If this request is denied, the district will cut its proposal in half and be left up to local funding.
The district does need to submit their certificate of necessity by August 31. They expect to hear back about that certificate by November. At that point, the district will decide where they would like to go next with their plans.