The creation of an early childhood learning center will be a group’s primary recommendation to New Castle’s school board.

The ad-hoc committee charged with evaluating the district’s building needs concluded its work earlier this week. The plan is a hybrid of previous proposals and comes in with the lowest price tag to date ’ $15.2 million.

The proposal would expand the Harry W. Lockley Kindergarten Center to create an early childhood learning center housing the district’s kindergartners and first-graders. The West Side, Thaddeus Stevens and John F. Kennedy primary centers would be closed, and students in grades two through five placed at George Washington Intermediate Elementary School.

’Right now we’re at a crisis to help a child at (the) 5-, 6-year-old level,’ said Principal Debra DeBlasio, who oversees Lockley and Thaddeus Stevens.

’We are part of their home life now, whether we believe it or not.’

The school board will determine what, if anything, will be done. Committee members will present their report at the board’s Dec. 14 work session.

’You have to balance what you can do with what you want to do,’ said David A. Esposito of Eckles Architecture and Engineering. ’The (kindergarten)-through-one early learning center ’ there seems to be a lot of passion about that.’

District business manager Joseph Ambrosini said the project must not be a financial burden to taxpayers.

’ ’What can we afford?’ That question came up several times,’ he said. ’Financially, the district is strong.’

Ambrosini will rely on $4.8 million in state reimbursement and $3 million of the district’s reserves as one part of the funding formula. A $7.4 million bond issue, covering a 30-year period, will finance the remainder.

Superintendent George Gabriel and Ambrosini said no tax increases will be requested to pay for the project.

In order to accomodate kindergartners and first-graders, Lockley will be expanded to more than double its size, from 38,330 square feet to 82,130 square feet.

The school system’s three primary centers ’ John F. Kennedy, Thaddeus Stevens and West Side ’ will be sold.

Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades will form the New Castle Middle School and be placed in the junior high section of the junior/senior high school. Students in ninth grade and up will be located in the senior high portion of the building.

The realignment of classes among George Washington and the junior/senior high concerned committee members.