New Castle schools report facility upgrades and praise quick response to high school fire

Board members received a series of facilities and program updates at the March 9 meeting of the New Castle Community School Board of Trustees, and Superintendent Matthew Shoemaker thanked local responders for their work after a fire at New Castle High School.

Buildings and grounds staff reported that the New Castle High School restrooms were completed and opened the day of the meeting and that work continues on multi-purpose restrooms, with efforts focused on getting water to the facility. The board was told that roof work at the NCCC and track improvements are scheduled to begin in June, and that state bus inspections are set for the coming week. Staff said they are planning summer projects across district buildings.

In his slide presentation, Superintendent Shoemaker highlighted student programs and recent accomplishments across the district, including Wilbur Wright Elementary’s Tiny Trojans program, fifth-grade visits to the Career Center, Panther Choir activities, FCCLA participation, state qualifiers in wrestling, a 7th-grade tournament championship, a jazz band win and gymnasts headed to state competition. Shoemaker also acknowledged New Castle police, fire personnel, high school staff maintenance and custodial staff and SERVPRO for a quick response to a fire at the high school.

The minutes record these updates but do not provide contracts, timeline specifics beyond the month of June for some projects, or budgetary amounts for the summer work. The board approved other agenda items and adjourned at 7:01 p.m.