New Castle Area School District

New Castle Junior Senior High School is located at 300 East Lincoln Avenue. The school first opened in 2004 to Senior High students and opened to Junior High students a year later at a total construction cost of $40,300,000. As of the 2018-2019 school year, 771 students were housed in the Senior High wing, 502 students were housed in the Junior High wing. This is a total of 1,273 students housed in the building, up from 1,262 the previous school year. As of the 2019-2020 school year, grade 6 is also housed in the high school in its own separate wing. The Senior High School principal is Mr. Richard Litrenta, and the assistant principals are Mr. Ralph Blundo and Mrs. Jonalyn Romeo. The Junior High School principal is Mrs. Carol Morell and the assistant principal is Mrs. Jonalyn Romeo.

George Washington Intermediate is located at 101 East Euclid Avenue. It first opened in 1928, and since has had many major renovations to modernize the building. The school houses grades 3 through 5 as of the 2019-2020 school year, as grade 6 was moved to the Junior-Senior High School. In the 2018-2019 school year, 986 students were enrolled at this building. The building's coprincipals are Mr. David Antuono and Mrs. Tabitha Marino.

Harry W. Lockley Early Learning Center is located at 900 East Main Street, New Castle, is the newest building in the New Castle Area School District. Completed in 2013 after an expansion and modernization to a former building, and was constructed at a cost of $19,031,300. The school houses grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade. In the 2018-2019 school year, 802 pupils were enrolled at this school. The building's principal is Mr. Joe Anderson.

Croton Pre-Kindergarten Center is located at 420 Fern Street. In the 2018-2019 school year, 80 students were enrolled at the school. The building's principal is Mr. Joe Anderson.

• Best District for Athletes in Pennsylvania: #43 out of 498 school districts.

• Most Diverse Districts in Pennsylvania: #51 out of 500 school districts.

• Best Places to Teach in Pennsylvania: #221 out of 500 school districts.

• Best Teachers in Pennsylvania: #236 out of 500 school districts.

• Best District for Athletes in Lawrence County: #1 out of 8 school districts.

• Best Places to Teach in Lawrence County: #6 out of 8 school districts.

• Best Teachers in Lawrence County: #7 out of 8 school districts.

The New Castle Area School District has been under Warning AYP status due to missing academic metrics in reading and mathematics coupled with a low graduation rate since 2012. In the 2017-2018 school year, the student group did not meet the standard demonstrating growth in English Language Arts/Literature, as well as Mathematics/Algebra 1. In addition, the student group did not meet the performance standard for regular school attendance, as well as the percent four-year cohort graduation goal.[6] The school was also below the statewide average for advanced students who took Algebra, Literature, and Biology state assessments such as the Pennsylvania Keystone Exam.

The graduation rate in 2019 was 82%, according to Niche.[7] Niche reports that the most popular colleges students choose in this school district are Slippery Rock University, Youngstown State University, Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Westminster College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro University, Point Park University, and Robert Morris University.

New Castle Junior Senior High School offers a dual enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offered a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.[8] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[9] Currently courses are offered at Westminster College, Seton Hill University, and Butler County Community College.

New Castle Senior High School Offers: AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP English, AP U.S. History, AP Economics, and AP Computer Science Principles. Students are encouraged, but not required to take the AP test in the spring. Each AP Class is weighted to a maximum 5.00 GPA.

New Castle Senior High School Offers: Honors English 7, Honors English 8, Honors English 9, Honors English 10, Honors English 11, Honors World History, Honors U.S. History, Honors Integrated Science, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Concert Band, Honors Spanish V, Honors Italian V, Honors French V, Honors Pre-Algebra, Honors Algebra I, Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra I, Honors Pre-Calculus, Honors Calculus. Elective courses that are classified as Honors courses are Intro to Engineering, Principles of Engineering, English Design & Development, and Computer Science Essentials. These courses are weighted to a maximum 4.5 GPA.

Among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts, graduation requirements widely vary. The New Castle Area School Board has determined that in the class of 2023, a pupil must earn 25.5 credits to graduate, including:

• 4 Credits in Math
• 4 Credits in English
• 4 Credits in Social Studies
• 4 Credits in Science
• 2 Credits in Health/P.E./Driver's Education
• .5 Credits in Financial Literacy
• .5 Credits in STEAM Elective
• 6.5 Credits in Additional Electives

A student must have earned 6 credits to be classified as a Sophomore; 13 credits to be classified as a Junior; 19.5 credits to be classified as a Senior.

In addition to credits, students are required to complete a College and Career Readiness Project, the ASVAB test, passed all three of the Pennsylvania Keystone Exams, taken the PSAT, a resume, a cover letter, a senior research paper, job shadowing, and community service.

New Castle Area School District Administration reported that 127 or 4.0% of its students were gifted in 2018. By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. The referral process for a gifted evaluation can be initiated by teachers or parents by contacting the student's building principal and requesting an evaluation. All requests must be made in writing. To be eligible for mentally gifted programs in Pennsylvania, a student must have a cognitive ability of at least 130 as measured on a standardized ability test by a certified school psychologist. Other factors that indicate 'giftedness' will also be considered for eligibility.[24][25][26]

For the 2012-13 school year, New Castle Area School District received $21,849,382.[56] The Governor's Executive Budget for 2012-2013 included $9.34 billion for kindergarten through 12th grade public education, including $5.4 billion in basic education funding, which was an increase of $49 million over the 2011-12 budget. In addition, the Commonwealth provided $100 million for the Accountability Block grant program. New Castle Area School District received $342,157 in Accountability Block grant funding. The state also provided a $544.4 million payment for School Employees’ Social Security and $856 million for School Employees’ Retirement fund called PSERS.[57]

In 2011-12, New Castle Area School District received a $21,507,225 allocation, of state Basic Education Funding.[58][59] Additionally, New Castle Area School District received $342,158 in Accountability Block Grant funding. The enacted Pennsylvania state Education budget included $5,354,629,000 for the 2011-2012 Basic Education Funding appropriation. This amount was a $233,290,000 increase (4.6%) over the enacted State appropriation for 2010-2011.[60] The highest increase in state basic education funding was awarded to Duquesne City School District, which got a 49% increase in state funding for 2011-12.[61] In 2010, the district reported that 2,169 students received free or reduced-price lunches, due to the family meeting the federal poverty level.[62]

In the 2010-11 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 6.51% increase in Basic Education Funding (BEF) for a total of $23,734,379 to New Castle Area School District . New Castle Area School District received the highest increase in BEF among the districts in Lawrence County. In 2010-11 the District received 65% of its annual funding from the Commonwealth. One hundred fifty Pennsylvania school districts received the base 2% increase. The highest increase in 2010-11 went to Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County which received a 23.65% increase in state funding.[63] The state's hold harmless policy regarding state basic education funding continued where each district received at least the same amount as it received the prior school year, even when enrollment had significantly declined. The amount of increase each school district received was set by Governor Edward Rendell and then Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak, as a part of the state budget proposal given each February. This was the second year of Governor Rendell's policy to fund some districts at a far greater rate than others.[64]

In the 2009-2010 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 3.60% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $22,282,350. Among the districts in Lawrence County, the highest increase went to Wilmington Area School District which got a 4.36%. In 2010-11 the District received 62% of its annual funding from the Commonwealth. Ninety school Pennsylvania public school districts received a 2% increase. Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received a 22.31% increase in state basic education funding in 2009.[65] The amount of increase each school district received was set by Governor Edward G. Rendell and the Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak, as a part of the state budget proposal.[66] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania spent $7,824 Per Pupil in the year 2000. This amount increased up to $12,085 by the year 2008.[67][68]

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 1,880 New Castle Area School District students received free or reduced-price lunches due to low family income in the 2007–08 school year.[69]

The state Basic Education Funding to the district in 2008-09 was $4,787,151.79. This was 66.81% of the New Castle Area School District funding coming from the Commonwealth. Local sources contributed 25% of annual revenues.[70]

Beginning in 2004-2005, the state launched the Accountability Block Grant school funding. This program has provided $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania's school districts. The Accountability Block Grant program requires that its taxpayer dollars are focused on specific interventions that are most likely to increase student academic achievement. These interventions include: teacher training, all-day kindergarten, lower class size K-3rd grade, literacy and math coaching programs that provide teachers with individualized job-embedded professional development to improve their instruction, before or after school tutoring assistance to struggling students. For 2010-11, the district applied for and received $928,701 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district uses the funding to provide prekindergarten for 120 children beginning in 2003. It also uses the funding to provide tutoring before and after school.[71][72]

The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, Science, History, Math) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006 to 2009. New Castle Area School District was denied funding in 2006-07. In 2007-08, the school received $281,053. Finally, New Castle Area School District received $50,752 in 2008-09 for a total funding of $331,805.[73] In Lawrence County the highest award was given to New Castle Area School District. The highest funding statewide was awarded to Philadelphia City School District in Philadelphia County - $9,409,073. In 2010, Classrooms for the Future funding was curtailed statewide due to a massive state financial crisis.

George Washington Intermediate School successfully applied to participate and received a Science It's Elementary grant in 2008-09. For the 2008-09 school year, the program was offered in 143 schools reaching 2,847 teachers and 66,973 students across Pennsylvania.[74] In 2007, the Pennsylvania Department of Education initiated an effort to improve science instruction in the Commonwealth's public elementary schools. Called Science: It's Elementary, the program is a hands on instruction approach for elementary science classes that develops problem-solving and critical thinking skills.[75] To encourage schools to adopt the program's standards aligned curriculum, the state provided a grant to cover the costs of materials and extensive mandatory teacher training.[76] The district was required to develop a three-year implementation plan for the participating school. They had to appoint a district liaison who was paid $3000 by PDE to serve as the conduit of all information between the district and the Department and its agents along with submitting orders and distributing supplies to implementing teachers. For the 2006-07 state education budget, $10 million was allocated. The 2006-07 State Education Budget provided $635 million in new spending for pre-K through 12th grades for the 2006-07 school year. This marks an 8-percent increase over 2005-06 public school funding.[77] The grant program was expanded to $14.5 million in the 2008-09 budget. The grant was discontinued in 2010 by Governor Rendell due to a massive state budget crisis.

New Castle Area School District received an extra $8,754,072 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.[78][79] The funding was limited to the 2009–10 and 2010-2011 school years.[80] Due to the temporary nature of the funding, public school districts were repeatedly advised by the state General Assembly and Pennsylvania Secretary of Education to use the funds for one-time expenditures like: acquiring equipment, making repairs to buildings, training teachers to provide more effective instruction or purchasing books and software.

New Castle Area School District officials did not apply for the federal Race to the Top grant which would have provided over one million dollars in additional federal funding to improve student academic achievement.[81] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate.[82] Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[83][84][85]

New Castle Area School Board elected to participate in the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program.[86] The program called for the state to audit the District, at no cost to local taxpayers, to identify ways the District could save tax dollars by rethinking administrative and transportation functions.[87] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.

Property tax rates in 2012-13 were set by the school board at 17.2700 mills. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. Irregular property reassessments have become a serious issue in the commonwealth as it creates a significant disparity in taxation within a community and across a region.[88] Property taxes, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, apply only to real estate - land and buildings. The property tax is not levied on cars, business inventory, or other personal property. Certain types of property are exempt from property taxes, including: places of worship, places of burial, private social clubs, charitable and educational institutions and government property. Additionally, service related, disabled US military veterans may seek an exemption from paying property taxes. Pennsylvania school district revenues are dominated by two main sources: 1) Property tax collections, which account for the vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; and 2) Act 511 tax collections, which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[89] When the school district includes municipalities in two counties, each of which has different rates of property tax assessment, a state board equalizes the tax rates between the counties.[90] In 2010, miscalculations by the State Tax Equalization Board (STEB) were widespread in the Commonwealth and adversely impacted funding for many school districts, including those that did not cross county borders.[91]

• 2011-12 - 17.2700 mills.[92]
• 2010-11 - 17.2700 mills [93]
• 2009-10 - 17.2700 mills.[94]
• 2008-09 - 17.2700 mills.[95]
• 2007-08 - 17.2700 mills.[96]
• 2006-07 - 17.2700 mills.[97]
• 2005-06 - 17.2700 mills.[98]

The average yearly property tax paid by Lawrence County residents amounts to about 2.94% of their yearly income. Lawrence County ranked 636th of the 3143 United States counties for property taxes as a percentage of median income.[99] According to a report prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the total real estate taxes collected by all school districts in Pennsylvania rose from $6,474,133,936 in 1999-00 to $10,438,463,356 in 2008-09 and to $11,153,412,490 in 2011.[100] Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).[101]

The Act 1 of 2006 Index regulates the rates at which each school district can raise property taxes in Pennsylvania. Districts are not permitted to raise property taxes above their annual Index unless they either: allow voters to vote by referendum or they receive an exception from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The base index for the school year is published by the PDE in the fall of each year. Each individual school district's Act 1 Index can be adjusted higher, depending on a number of factors, such as local property values and the personal income of district residents. Originally, Act 1 or 2006 included 10 exceptions: increasing pension costs, increases in special education costs, a catastrophe like a fire or flood, increase in health insurance costs for contracts in effect in 2006 or dwindling tax bases. The base index is the average of the percentage increase in the statewide average weekly wage, as determined by the PA Department of Labor and Industry, for the preceding calendar year and the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index for Elementary and Secondary Schools, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor, for the previous 12-month period ending June 30. For a school district with a market value/personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4000, its index equals the base index multiplied by the sum of .75 and its MV/PI AR for the current year.[102] In June 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly eliminated six exceptions to the Act 1 Index.[103] Several exceptions were maintained: 1) costs to pay interest and principal on indebtedness incurred prior to September 4, 2004 for Act 72 schools and prior to June 27, 2006 for non-Act 72 schools; 2) costs to pay interest and principal on electoral debt; 3) costs incurred in providing special education programs and services (beyond what is already paid by the State); and 4) costs due to increases of more than the Index in the school's share of payments to PSERS (PA school employees pension fund) taking into account the state mandated PSERS contribution rate.[104][105]

The School District Adjusted Index for the New Castle Area School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[106]

For the 2012-13 budget year, New Castle Area School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index. For 2012-2013, 274 school districts adopted a resolution certifying that tax rates would not be increased above their index; 223 school districts adopted a preliminary budget leaving open the option of exceeded the Index limit. For the exception for pension costs, 194 school districts received approval to exceed the Index. For special education costs, 129 districts received approval to exceed the tax limit.[109]

For the 2011-12 school year, the New Castle Area School Board did not apply for an exception to exceed the Act 1 Index. Each year, the New Castle Area School Board has the option of adopting either 1) a resolution in January certifying they will not increase taxes above their index or 2) a preliminary budget in February. A school district adopting the resolution may not apply for referendum exceptions or ask voters for a tax increase above the inflation index. A specific timeline for these decisions is published annually, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.[110]

According to a state report, for the 2011-2012 school year budgets, 247 school districts adopted a resolution certifying that tax rates would not be increased above their index; 250 school districts adopted a preliminary budget. Of the 250 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget, 231 adopted real estate tax rates that exceeded their index. Tax rate increases in the other 19 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget did not exceed the school district's index. Of the districts who sought exceptions: 221 used the pension costs exemption and 171 sought a Special Education costs exemption. Only 1 school district sought an exemption for Nonacademic School Construction Project, while 1 sought an exception for Electoral debt for school construction.[111]

In 2012, New Castle Area School District approved homestead residents received $224.[112] In 2010, property tax relief for 5,357 approved residents of Area School District was set at $221.[113] In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Area School District was also $224 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 5,288 property owners applied for the tax relief. In Lawrence County, the highest tax relief goes to New Castle Area School District which was set at $224.[114] The highest property tax relief, among Pennsylvania school districts, went to the homesteads of Chester Upland School District of Delaware County which received $632 per approved homestead in 2010. Chester-Upland School District has consistently been the top recipient since the programs inception.[115] The relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill. Property owners apply for the relief through the county Treasurer's office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on building used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres (40,000 m²) and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. In Lawrence County, just 51.25% of eligible property owners applied for property tax relief in 2009. This was among the lowest participation rates in Pennsylvania.[116]

Each year, hundreds of students in Honors Integrated Science, Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry attend the annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science regional competition at Slippery Rock University. Students who participate and win a first place award for their project get to travel to Penn State University in State College for three days to present their project again. At the meet in State College in May of 2019, 82 students from the district participated, and of these, 24 of them won first place awards - a record number for the school.[117]

Students in the district are also able to compete in VEX Robotics competitions. The competitions involve students creating their own unique robot that is able to complete tasks both autonomously and user-controlled. In 2018, the district sent one team, 16101Z, to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the VEX World Competition. In 2019, the district sent three teams, 16101X, 16101Y, and 16101Z, to the world competition where all three teams excelled.