School City of East Chicago proposes downsizing Carrie Gosch Early Learning Center to cut $4 million in costs

School City of East Chicago officials presented a plan at an informational meeting to downsize the Carrie Gosch Early Learning Center as part of efforts to curb a projected $4 million budget shortfall. The superintendent said the district will keep its pre‑K program but move it into four elementary schools and change eligibility and operational rules.

The superintendent, speaking to families and staff, said the decision grew out of a financial forecast shared with the board and a combination of shrinking federal and state funding, charter enrollments and declining district enrollment. "We are closing the early learning center. We are not getting rid of the pre kindergarten program," the superintendent said, adding the district aims to "shave somewhere around $4,000,000 in the next 2 years." She said operating the Carrie Gosch building costs roughly $2,000,000 a year while reimbursements from the state are approximately $25,000–$40,000.

Under the recommendation, pre‑K will continue in Harrison Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, McKinley and Washington Elementary. The district projected about 14 pre‑K classrooms across those sites (Harrison 3, Lincoln 2, McKinley 3 and Washington 5) to accommodate an estimated 203 students;…