New Castle, DE- The Colonial School District (CSD) is thrilled to announce the John G. Leach School, located at 10 Landers Lane in New Castle, has received approval from the Department of Education to build a new $40 million school in Bear, Delaware. Leach, which is more than 60 years old, serves students from all over the state with severe disabilities and medical conditions and the current building is no longer serving all of the educational needs.  Most Leach students use several different mobility devices throughout their day and require the use of lifts and other specialized equipment to serve their needs. The staff at Leach are extremely dedicated and resourceful and have created ways to minimize the impact that the present inadequate facility has on Leach’s educational programming but they are running out of options and space.

Because the new school will be 100% state-funded, it will have no impact on the tax rate for the Colonial community, and therefore will not require a referendum.

The proposed facility will offer larger instructional spaces with more therapy areas, safer bathrooms, and hallways, adequate and convenient storage space for all of the mobility devices, and covered bus access to allow our students and staff to safely enter and exit the building in all weather conditions.

“The students at John G. Leach deserve an educational environment that allows them to expand their horizons; not one that limits their options,” says Superintendent Jeffrey Menzer.

The new building will be located along Routes 1 and 7 near the new Amazon and DMV/DART facilities in Bear.  The current DOE recommendation is that Colonial will purchase the land for the new building in Fiscal Year 2023 and begin the design and construction process in Fiscal Year 2024.