DELAWARE — An estimated 800 additional students and nearly $100 million in needed building repairs are driving a long-term facilities planning effort in Delaware City Schools.
The district is in the middle of a 17-month process to create a facility master plan, Delaware 2040, based on district-wide needs, set to be completed by July 2027.
No decisions have been made yet, but the district recently moved into the options phase of the plan, where it will assess the challenges the community identified and offer possible solutions.
“You get really great ideas when you have as many voices in the room as possible, and you start to consider things that wouldn’t have been top of (your) mind in that process,” said Superintendent Keith Pomeroy. “I’m looking for as many people as possible to engage in this process as we move forward.”
A building team meeting open to parents, staff and the community will be held on Nov. 11 from 6-8 p.m. at Hayes High School to discuss options for the high school and middle school.
A meeting on Dec. 3 will discuss the elementary buildings.
The facilities master plan is one part of a four-part strategic plan that Pomeroy hopes to be fully approved by January 2027.
Planning for growth
Delaware 2040 resulted from Mission: Delaware, in which Pomeroy visited all seven district buildings and conducted a comprehensive listening tour at the start of his tenure in fall 2025.
Using feedback from the tour, he created a three-question survey asking community members to identify the district’s strengths, areas for improvement and experiences students need to succeed, according to the Summary Report of Findings from December 2025.
“When I think about the kids who will graduate in 2040, they’re in my preschool classrooms already,” Pomeroy said. “(I ask) where do we want to be as a community and how do we address the challenges that we have? Because that will define the options that we end up creating on the other end of this.”
He said across the board, proactive planning for community growth and aging buildings emerged as the district’s top challenge and priority.
New projections show that in the next decade, there could be a roughly 800-student increase. For example, Dempsey Middle School has about 1,200 students, but that number will jump to almost 1,500 students by 2036.
“I think 1,270 students in middle school is too many kids,” Pomeroy said. “So, I think that we need to consider what we want to do from that perspective.”
Other concerns include behavioral and emotional needs, student opportunities, communication from the district down and technology use. Pomeroy said those concerns were listed in order of priority.
“I felt that it’s necessary for me not to just listen and learn that information, but then look at how do we respond to those concerns and those needs,” he said.
Facility upgrades
Delaware City Schools is also facing significant maintenance needs across its existing buildings.
A facilities assessment revealed that repairing all the current issues in the buildings today would cost $96.1 million. If phased out over 10 years, the amount would increase to $164 million due to inflation.
The district is working with the Ohio Facility Construction Commission (OFCC) and the architecture firm SHP, to evaluate each building and create a list of needs and options for repairing, renovating or replacing them.
Josh Predovich, the director of master planning at SHP, said for each of those options they will develop three or four strong ideas and estimate their costs.
President of the Board of Education Ted Backus said other options include school expansions or using the 52 acres of donated land at Price Farms for a new school.
“Every school is different. Every school has different needs, and we’re not trying to make any judgment at this point as to what the decision will be because we’re wanting to let the community play out the full scale of their involvement,” Backus said.
Predovich said possible payment options include a voted bond issue, an income tax issue, donations or state co-funded programs through the OFCC.
Pomeroy said no decisions have been made, but noted “there is still a cost to do nothing” because of building maintenance needs.
He added the permanent improvement dollars the community voted on last November could also lower costs.
“At this point in time, nobody wants more taxes imposed upon them, right? And so it’s a balancing act,” Predovich said.
“How do we get what we need to allow our students to be successful, but at the same time, be respectful and responsible with the dollars that school districts are given to do that work?”
