Tipp City schools seek March bond levy; would build 1 new school for grades PK-8
Dec. 8—TIPP CITY — The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education voted Dec. 5 to place a 30-year bond issue to raise $87 million for a preschool through eighth-grade building on the March ballot.
The bond would be for 8.68 mills with a 5.25 percent interest rate as certified by the Miami County Auditor's Office.
The board has been working with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission on planning for the building that would eventually house all the students currently at Nevin Coppock Elementary School, Broadway Elementary School, L.T. Ball Intermediate School and the Tipp City Middle School.
The district is in line for about $30 million from the OFCC to help with the project, which Superintendent Aaron Moran said would cover two phases.
The first phase would be construction of the new PK-8 school on the district's North Hyatt Street site where Nevin Coppock, the Middle School and L.T. Ball Intermediate School are located. Construction of the new building in that phase could require some demolition of other structures, and temporary movement of students.
The bus garage and tennis courts could be moved elsewhere on the Hyatt Street site. The Middle School would be removed after the new building is constructed because part of that location will become parking.
More detailed site plans are expected later this month.
The second phase would involve work at Tippecanoe High School and the Broadway Elementary School property south of West Main Street as well as work on the L.T. Ball building. The district hopes to use at least a portion of the L.T. Ball building for board of education offices and other purposes remaining to be finalized.
The district plans to work with the city and the neighborhood around Broadway to determine the property's fate, said Superintendent Aaron Moran. School leaders think having the board offices closer to the schools, which would be concentrated on the North Hyatt Street site across from the city post office and at the high school further north along Kessler-Cowlesville Road, would better serve students and staff, Moran said. The board of education is located in a separate building on Tippecanoe Drive, south of Main Street.
"I am very impressed seeing how much work has been done. It is a very well thought out plan," said Amber Drum, board of education president.
The board voted 4-0 to place the bond issue before voters. The fifth board member, Theresa Dunaway, did not attend the meeting.
The district last sought a bond issue for new building construction May 2019. That request was defeated by around 200 votes.
The proposed bond issue would cost $304 for each $100,000 of the county auditor's appraised value of a property, according to the ballot proposal.
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