By Amantha Garpiel
For Miami Valley Today
TIPP CITY — The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education discussed the current school safety measures and mental health programming for the district, as well as the potential of finding an owner representative for the new building construction project.
During the Tuesday, Aug. 6, meeting, Superintendent Aaron Moran reminded the board and community members of the current safety measures and mental health programming within the district.
According to Moran, the district currently has two school resource officers (SROs) for Tippecanoe Middle School and Tippecanoe High School.
He also noted they are expecting a retiring officer to join the district this year as an SRO for the transition from LT Ball and Broadway Elementary to the new preschool through eighth-grade building.
The SROs also provides security during sporting events.
Moran also reminded the board and district of the current status of mental health programming in the district.
The district currently uses funds provided by the state’s Student Wellness and Success Funds to employ seven mental health counselors throughout the schools. There is one counselor at both LT Ball Intermediate and Broadway Elementary, two counselors available at Tippecanoe Middle School and three available at Tippecanoe High School.
Next, Moran expressed he believes it would be beneficial for the district to bring in an individual to act as the district’s representative for the upcoming new building construction project.
He noted that it would ensure someone with the district’s best interest in mind will be part of each step of the project.
“I don’t want to have a good building for a couple years. I want to have a great building for 40-50 years,” said Moran. “Making sure we invest and get what we need — getting what we pay for to the highest level before we sign off on anything — it would be important to look into.”
Moran requested the board consider posting an owner representative job description for the public and noted the district could potentially use interest money from the building bonds to pay for this position.
The board expressed agreement with Moran.
Member Richard Mains noted that during his time sitting with the Miami Valley Career Technology Center Board through their recent construction project, it was recommended to him for Tipp City to look into an owner representative for their district’s construction project.
Mains also offered to use his contact with the MVCTC to find good recommendations for an owner representative.
Angela McMurry questioned the extent of this position, asking if the position would be full-time and how long the contract would last. The others on the board speculated that it would need to be a full-time position with at least a three-year contract.
McMurry also raised concerns of the representative’s possible alignment with the construction company.
Moran shared that the future owner representative would not be with any contractors or companies involved in the project, saying, “they would be there for us.”
“It doesn’t matter what their salary is, if they’re good at what they do,” said Board member Kyle Thompson. “If you didn’t have somebody working on a project like this, having eyes on it all the time, there could be a single change order that exceeds the value of their entire salary. It’s almost an insurance policy against anything like that happening. It’s also an investment.”
The writer is a regular contributor to Miami Valley Today.
