NEW CASTLE Board approves final leg of new-school financing

District officials say they have scrapped attempts to save some of the homes marked for demolition.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The New Castle School board approved the final portion of financing for a new high school.
Board members agreed to take out a nearly $10 million bond issue over a 30-year period -- the district's third bond issue in the past few years.
The bonds are expected to pay for the high school, estimated to cost $28 million.
A 2/3-mill tax increase, interest and principal from $9 million in a capital improvement fund, state reimbursements, and about $39.5 million the district has built into its budget will pay off the estimated $68 million bond debt over the next three decades.
Construction kickoff: Although the financing is in place, board members say they still don't know when construction will begin.
The district is waiting for city council to decide if it will close Reis Street and grant the district a conditional use permit. A vote on that issue is expected March 22.
The district needs the street to be closed to connect two new wings, which will meet in the street area. Plans call for a new education wing to be built along East Street and an arts wing to be built on the site of the old school.
Once the district knows if the street will be closed it can start making plans for an Act 34 hearing, a public meeting required by the state to outline the project and financing, Superintendent Joseph Martin said.
Homes not saved: The superintendent noted after Wednesday's meeting that attempts to save some of the homes from being razed were not successful.
He said architects tried to redesign the school three ways and all required the purchase of more homes.