By Matt Clevenger
TIPP CITY — Voters in the Tipp City Exempted Village School District will be asked to approve an 8.68-mil bond issue during the upcoming March 19, Primary Election, as part of a larger plan to construct a new school building for the district’s pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students.
The bond issue is a 30-year request, Tipp City Schools Superintendent Aaron Moran said, and would equal approximately $304 per $100,000 of appraised home value annually.
If the bond issue passes, the new pre-k through eighth-grade building would be constructed at the district’s North Hyatt Street site, which currently includes the Tippecanoe Middle School, L.T. Ball and Nevin Coppock buildings.
The Tippecanoe Middle School, Nevin Coppock and Broadway buildings would be demolished, Moran said. The new pre-k through eighth-grade building would have an opening date in 2027.
“It would be about a year of design, and two years of construction, with an opening date of August 2027,” Moran said.
The building project would cost an estimated $87 million in total, he said, and the district is currently in line to receive up to $30 million in reimbursement from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), which has recommended the district replace the buildings rather than repair them.
“The cost to renovate versus replace those buildings is substantial,” Moran said. “The other piece is when you renovate, it’s still a substantial time and cost to do that, but what’s happening with the kids during that time? They’re going to have to be put in other structures when the renovations are happening.”
“With our plan, there’s no additional classrooms needed,” he said.
More information on the bond issue and the district’s building plan, can be found online through the Tipp City Schools Levy Campaign Committee website at www.movingtippforward.com.
“We think this provides the students a safe, healthy learning environment to achieve their best, and also invest in the success of the future of the community as well,” Moran said.
