By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — Pending state funding availability, steps for a new Sussex Technical High School are expected to begin next year, starting a four-year construction cycle.

Sussex Tech officials have received from the state a verbal commitment for a certificate of necessity authorizing construction of a new school — an estimated $177 million project that will replace the six-decade-old building on Del. 9, west of Georgetown.

“We have been verbally notified by the Department of Education that our request for a new Sussex Technical High School has been approved by the department,” said Sussex Tech Superintendent Dr. Kevin Carson. “Pending funding at the General Assembly, we would begin that process next year (fiscal year 2023).”

DOE spokeswoman Alison May said Wednesday that the Department of Education "has recommended Sussex Tech for a CN, and the funding is included in DOE’s capital budget proposal submitted to (the Office of Management & Budget)."

DOE’s OMB budget hearing is Nov. 19, which is the first step in the budget process. 

"Nothing is final until the General Assembly passes the (budget) bill. The official CN has not been finalized yet.  We are working with districts on those right now and anticipate that being done in a week or so," said Ms. May.

The school would be built on property owned by the district, Dr. Carson said. Some of the existing structure of the Tech campus will likely be razed to accommodate construction.
Proposed at 349,746 square feet, it would replace the current 300,000-square-foot school, the original portion of which first welcomed students in 1961. Over the years, there have been numerous additions and renovations.

“The overwhelming majority of our vocational/technical space is original building — 1961. There was a ’70 addition. I think there have been a total of four,” Dr. Carson said. “We are the definition of a hodgepodge. You can see where there was additions and improvements made in this era, in that era. If we have the ability to save a building, we will do so. We also have to make room for the new construction.

“I think we are the only high school in the state that does not have an auditorium. Our productions, our gatherings are usually done in the gym,” he added.

The high school’s current enrollment is 1,306 students. Another 2,800 are enrolled in Sussex Tech’s adult education/evening program.

“We’re an early-in-the-morning/late-at-night organization,” said Dr. Carson. “Our population is actually larger in the evening school than the day school.”

With the proposal comes plans for expanded technical education opportunities and increased enrollment.

“We hope to reintroduce a culinary program. There was a culinary program here at Sussex Tech at one time in the 1980s,” said Dr. Carson. “And the timing is perfect. The job market for vocational/technical students is as high as it has ever been — welding, the automotive industry, the trades, health care, dental. We have had more job demand needs than we have students. The demand far exceeds the current supply. That is what should make it attractive.”

Tech’s enrollment has room to grow with a new building.

“We’ve been approved to go to 1,450 (daytime) students. The facility will be built to accommodate 1,600 students,” said Dr. Carson. “We will have 700 to 800 applications this year for 325 spots, give or take. The demand for vocational/technical education is out there.”

Students applying to Sussex Tech are chosen through a lottery system run by the Data Service Center, a New Castle County firm. “It’s a computer program,” the superintendent said. “We don’t touch it.”

There are two accommodations for admission of “legacy” students. “One is if you have a sibling attending school here, you get admission. Second, if you’re the son or daughter of an employee, you get preference,” said Dr. Carson.

The anticipated cost of the project is $177,634,900. Funding, based on the wealth of a district, would be a 60%/40% state/local ratio.

That translates to $106,581,000 in state funding and $71,053,900 in local money. The impact on Sussex County taxpayers would “be dependent upon the rate at which bonds are sold. It’s better than it was 10 years ago,” he said.

This summer, Sussex Tech’s board of education unanimously approved the CN submission to the state for consideration.

According to DOE spokeswoman Alison May, “DOE has recommended Sussex Tech for a CN, and the funding is included in DOE’s capital budget proposal submitted to (the Office of Management & Budget). DOE’s OMB budget hearing is Nov. 19, which is the first step in the budget process. Nothing is final until the General Assembly passes the (budget) bill. The official CN has not been finalized yet. We are working with districts on those right now and anticipate that being done in a week or so.”

Dr. Carson said he is thankful for the support of so many.

“This board and the preceding boards have been very aware of the condition of our physical plant, facilities, and they have been very supportive. Our legislators have been supportive of this project, and we appreciate that support, also,” he said.

Sussex Technical School District owns property on both sides of Del. 9, a major artery linking Laurel and Georgetown. The new school’s footprint — one story or two stories — will determine how much acreage would be used and what on the current campus would need to be razed.

“The other challenge is that, while all of this is happening, you have to run school. It is going to take a while to build a school and then be able to transition into it,” Dr. Carson added.

Over the years, there have been several collapses of the ceramic stormwater infrastructure underground. Additionally, some air conditioning units date back to 1972.

“This has been a wonderful facility. The maintenance crew over the decades has done a phenomenal job of taking (care) of this facility. But every facility gets to the point where … things just necessitate going to a newer facility,” said Dr. Carson. “We own our land. We have sewer to the site. We have good electric service to the site. We’re on a major route, Route 9. I look at all of those things as assets.”

The project is scheduled to take four years, commencing with fiscal year 2023, which starts July 1, 2022. Most construction would occur in years two and three, Dr. Carson said.

“The concept of building a new Sussex Technical High School has been approved,” he said. “The staff has been informed. We’re thrilled.”