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New $45 million school planned for Howard T. Ennis

Groundbreaking set for early 2020
September 5, 2019

County students with significant disabilities will attend a new school beginning in 2022. Officials say they are set to break ground in early 2020.

Indian River School District Superintendent Mark Steele said a new Howard T. Ennis School will be built across the street from Sussex Central High School on Patriots Way in Georgetown.

The cost of the school, about $45 million, will be completely funded by the state, Steele said. At 92,000 square feet, the school will be 40,000 square feet larger than the current school, built 49 years ago on Ennis Road in Georgetown, and close to twice the size of the old school.

The Ennis School offers services to students ages 4 to 21 who have significant disabilities and live in the district and surrounding areas. About 134 students attended the school last year, according to Delaware Department of Education.

“Most have medical issues, such as seizure disorders, and need medication or tube-feeding assistance,” Steele said. “There are five nurses on staff, and some students have private nurses who attend school with them.”

The existing school sits on 5.6 acres. With many students requiring medical attention and bulky equipment, Steele said, the building is running out of space.

A 2016 assessment by Milford architectural firm Fern + Clendaniel stated the school would need 40,000 to 50,000 additional square feet to serve students. The building was not constructed to enable additional stories, and there was no room left to build on the property, which belongs to Delaware Technical Community College. 

Steele said school officials eyed land owned by Delaware Health and Social Services across the street from Sussex Central High School. 

“It took eight months to a year to transfer 30 acres to the school district for $1. It would have been a couple million just for the land,” said Steele, noting the transfer was completed in spring 2019.

The existing school has an Olympic-sized pool that was installed in the 1980s, Steele said, but it is not the type of pool needed for students with significant disabilities. 

“They need a therapy pool that must be 88 to 90 degrees and smaller,” he said.

Humidity from the pool caused problems at the current school, and repair parts were hard to find for the pool, which is also used by adult education programs and two district high school swim teams for practice. 

Steele said officials are negotiating with Del Tech to use the school as a small elementary or early learning center for Indian River School District, which is overcrowded. Steele said about 300 elementary students could fit in Ennis. 

“Some work will need to be done on the building because it’s old, and compliance issues will need to be addressed,” he said. “We’re hoping to be able to use it.”

Delaware Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said she was excited for the learning opportunities the new school will provide.

“The new school will provide more room and upgraded facilities to better meet the needs of its students, who range in age from preschool-age to 21,” Bunting said. “Howard T. Ennis serves a growing population of students with unique needs who demand highly specialized educational supports.”

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