Carney wants the proposed alliance to:

• Give principals more control over how their schools operate;

• Empower teachers in high-poverty schools to have more say in how resources are used;

• Address the need to improve achievement rates in Christina’s five Wilmington schools, which he called “among the lowest in the state.” At Bayard, for example, only 3 percent of students are proficient in Math, and just 5 percent in English;

• Creating “trauma-informed classrooms’’ to address the issues faced by many Christina students from Wilmington, which has been reeling for years from an epidemic of gun violence;

• Build systems to create meaningful, sustained change in the district’s five Wilmington schools by launching a two-generation network to support infants, toddlers and adults.

His goal? Break the cycle of “generational poverty.”

The Carney administration and the district also signed a letter of intent this week develop a Memorandum of Understanding, which must be approved by the school board, to implement in the 2018-19 school year.

Carney also tackled the capacity issue in his remarks, saying “serious conversations” are needed.

“We are doing our students, educators, and taxpayers a disservice when we have half-empty school buildings — needlessly spreading resources thin,” the governor said.

Superintendent: “not ready to give up any of our buildings’

WHYY attempted to interview Gregg on camera about the student drain in August, before this school year began.

But Gregg, a Glasgow grad who took over the district in April, declined our request for an on-camera interview after several attempts. District spokeswoman Wendy Lapham emailed a statement that mentioned the capacity study.

“The district will be engaging our community in a process this fall that will include a review of all facilities and school capacities, the development of strategies for attracting and retaining students, and plans for designing and implementing relevant career pathways,’’ she wrote.

Gregg “has shared with the board that he considers underutilized buildings a challenge for the district, and will be working with staff and the community to identify the most effective use of buildings to maximize resources for students,’’ she wrote.

Superintendent Gregg spoke briefly to WHYY off camera while he toured Bancroft with the governor. While walking the hall of the underutilized school, Gregg stressed that he is focused on finding ways of attracting students back to Christina’s schools, rather than looking to shut the doors.

“I’m not ready to give up any of our buildings,” he said.

The district also denied a request to let WHYY visit any of the three traditional high schools, rejecting our request in early September to have the principals escort us through the buildings. The principals “are focused now on getting the new school year off to a great start,’’ Lapham wrote.

The district’s response about their problem with emptying buildings mirrored their reaction this spring when WHYY reported about the mothballing of their libraries at middle and high schools and elimination of librarian positions.

Gregg and principals did not agree to requests for interviews, nor was WHYY allowed to see the libraries.

Christina won’t provide costs to maintain schools

The district also refused to cooperate with attempts to determine how much it costs taxpayers to maintain even one of the high schools.

WHYY first tried to get an estimate from Lapham or chief financial officer Robert Silber. We asked that the district include costs such as insurance, utilities, electronics, custodial staff salaries and benefits, plus cost of renovations such as roofing, windows, stadium upgrades and other costs such as lawn care.

In her written response, Lapham said “trying to get the information together has been a bit challenging’’ at the start of the school year, “but I will get it.”

Days later, she said Silber directed her to have WHYY file a Freedom of Information Request for the information.

WHYY filed an official FOIA request for the cost in 2016 to maintain Christiana High, including custodial staff, utilities, and upkeep and renovations, such as replacement of roofs or windows and the heating systems.

Again, this was denied, even the salaries of top administrators – facts government agencies routinely provide without question.

“There are no reports that provide the information you request,” the district wrote.

WHYY plans to appeal Christina’s denial to Attorney General Matt Denn’s office.

Young doesn’t have the cost information, but said the expense of maintaining underutilized schools, especially aging ones, is high and that taxpayers should be concerned about how Christina is spending their money.

“The costs I would say are prohibitive … would say certainly close to at least a million or more per school” annually, he said.

Young said that beyond equipment costs and custodians, “there’s a lot of support staff that makes a school run.”

8,700 Christina residents in charters, other districts

So where are the 8,700 students who left Christina going?

Beyond vo-tech and out-of-district choice, the primary reason Christina’s enrollment has shrunk is the exodus to some 20 charter schools – 5,537 students in all – nearly triple the number 10 years ago.

Kendall Massett, president of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, said parents opt out of Christina and other districts because parents are discovering options not found in traditional public schools.

“When the kids are leaving Christina, parents are choicing their kids into a different school. They are going toward something that works for their kid,’’ Massett said.

“Some kids don’t do so good in those big comprehensive high schools. They thrive in a smaller, more family-like setting.”

The biggest recipient of Christina students is National Blue Ribbon winner Newark Charter, with 2,200.

Newark Charter, a kindergarten through 12th grade school, pulls from a five-mile radius that encompasses many of Christina’s more affluent areas. Newark Charter has been criticized for not taking students from the entire district, including Wilmington.

But the bottom line is that 2,200 Christina parents have their children at Newark Charter, with thousands more on the waiting list.

Another 3,300 students who live in Christina attend other charter schools that many members of the public don’t know about.

About 1,200 go to five charters in Wilmington – Kuumba, Edison, Great Oaks, East Side and Freire.

More than 400 apiece go to Odyssey near Wilmington and Las Americas ASPIRA near Newark. Charter of New Castle, formerly known as Family Foundations, has about 300.

Gateway Lab, Delaware Design Lab and the Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security each have about 100 Christina students.

Nearly 200 attend MOT Charter in Middletown, more than 10 miles from Christina’s southern border, and First State Military near Smyrna, some 25 miles away.

The flight from Christina is a key reason that charter school enrollment has increased to more than 15,000 students — 50 percent higher than four years ago.

In northern New Castle County, where the vast majority of charter schools are located, about one in six K-12 students now attend a charter.

Bancroft principal Butch Ingram echoed Massett when explaining why his enrollment is so low.

“I think it’s just choice in general,’’ Ingram said after Carney, Gregg and other state officials toured his school. “I don’t know if it’s more attractive one way or the other but when parents are provided choice they make choices based on what they think is best for their student.”