GEORGETOWN, Del. - The Bryan Allen Stevenson School of Excellence will close at the end of the school year after state officials revoked its charter Thursday. Delaware Department of Education Secretary Cindy Marten called the decision difficult but said the school will close at the end of the year.
The decision comes just 10 days after school leaders said during a public hearing that concerns involving finances, enrollment and school operations had been addressed.
Marten said the school’s authorized charter “specifies an enrollment many times higher than is currently realized, and the record does not reflect a clear path to achieving the enrollment necessary to support the school’s operations.”
She added that the school’s fiscal year 2025 audit “resulted in a disclaimer of opinion, meaning auditors were unable to obtain sufficient information to assess the school’s financial condition.”
“Considered alongside current enrollment levels, the department cannot verify solvency, payroll obligations or appropriate use of funds,” Marten said.
Marten said, “This decision reflects a process that included multiple opportunities for the school to respond, public hearings and extensive review of the record.”
She added that “while the department has provided significant prior support to BASSE, including technical assistance and programmatic flexibilities, these concerns have persisted.”
BASSE said in a statement, “This decision is even more troubling given that the secretary has never visited the school or spoken directly with its leadership.” The statement continued, “We have already provided our students and families with the tools they will need to navigate this difficult transition.”
The Delaware Department of Education said BASSE students can return to their home school districts or apply to other charter or district schools that are accepting students.
“I am frustrated by the process and frustrated by the decision,” said Chantell Ashford, head of school at BASSE. “I am a mix of frustrated and deeply sad because I know things often work differently in reality than bureaucracy and regulation paint them to work.”
Parents and students expressed mixed reactions to the closure. Breanna Shuhart, whose daughter attends BASSE, said she is concerned the transition could impact her child’s progress. “She’d be going back to Milford, and my concern would be that confidence she gained in the last two years would take a step back,” Shuhart said. “I don’t know if they’d be able to continue to work with her at the level they’ve been working with her here.”
Aiden Faulkner, an eighth grader at BASSE, said he has mixed feelings about the change. “Kind of like being sad, but also giving me a new opportunity at a new school,” Faulkner said.
Jordan Vaughn, a seventh grader, called the decision disappointing. “It’s like putting students out of a school they need to come to, and the teachers would be out of a job,” Vaughn said.
Some parents previously told CoastTV they withdrew their children from the school, citing concerns about a lack of structure and student safety. The Georgetown school opened just two years ago.
State officials said the revocation follows an extensive review that found the school failed to resolve ongoing issues despite multiple opportunities to improve.