TCS hosts town hall

TIFFIN – Thursday evening, Tiffin City Schools hosted its first in-person town hall to present its facility master plan to the community. At the beginning of 2023, TCS superintendent Ben Richards announced the creation of the Superintendent Advisory Committee. The committee was created to talk about school facility issues and is comprised of about 70 people to represent different aspects of the community. That committee had been tasked with determining the best route for TCS facilities. 11 months after its inception, the facility master plan was presented to the public in a virtual town hall last Monday with the in-person town hall coming Thursday evening. The purpose of the town hall was for the community to hear the plan, ask questions and provide feedback. The plan New K-5 building The plan consists of a new K-5 elementary school on the Tiffin Middle School, 103 Shepherd Dr., site. During the town hall, Richards explained one of the ideas behind the change would be to eliminate the need for parents to drop their elementary school children off at different buildings. Currently, k-1 students are housed at Washington Elementary, 2-3 at Krout and 3-4 at Noble. The reasoning for the new elementary school at the TMS site includes space for parking, exits and green space for students. Since the campus at the TMS site is susceptible to flooding, minor work would be done to build floodplain considerations. As part of the idea to build a new K-5 building, a traffic study was conducted. Richards explained that there were two recommendations to improve traffic flow in the area, one of those recommendations is a roundabout, which he assured the community will not happen. The second recommendation would be to move one stop sign. The traffic and lane improvements would focus on the accommodation of pick-up and drop-off times. There is also a plan for additional space and design elements to support specialized learning in the new schools. The estimated cost, which is subject to change, is $42,823,512. This cost includes constructing the buildings for an increased enrollment in the future. It was explained that the Superintendent Advisory Committee feels it is better to build the new school bigger rather than smaller so that the building can accommodate a larger enrollment, smaller enrollment, or the same enrollment over time. New 9-12 high school and stadium improvements A new high school would then be built adjacent to the existing high school, 300 S. Monroe St. The building would include new academic spaces, technology connections and select demolition to the existing high school. As with the new elementary school, there would be additional space and design elements that would support specialized learning. Improvements to the stadium would include a renovated press box, fieldhouse renovations and additional bleachers all for the home team. There would also be a new away team press box, new restrooms and concession stands for tennis and ballfields. At the current high school, renovations to the auditorium, an indoor fieldhouse, weight room, athletic, training and PT space would be done for ongoing school and community use. An expanded Tornado Academy academic space, maker space, computer lab, eSports, Pay It Forward shop, Alumni room and a student-led café would also be put into the current high school. The 300 S. Monroe St. Building would also house new breakout rooms. New parking would be installed after abatement and demolition of the rest of the current high school would take place. The current estimated cost, subject to change, is $45,932,354. This price also includes building to accommodate larger future enrollment. Additional renovation and details Tiffin Middle School would receive renovations to increase its longevity. Although the middle school is new compared to the other buildings, it does have issues such as the roof leaking. Lincoln, which houses the district's Pre-K students, would receive renovations that would better accommodate its students. The abatement and demolition of the existing elementary schools is also part of the plan. However, Richards said he has been approached by parties with particular interest in Washington and Noble Elementaries. The current estimated cost for this part of the project is $3,086,342. Another cost for the project are required and elective locally funded initiatives or LFIs. The cost for those sits at $22,670,888 The total project cost is $114,513,096. The state would pay for 70% of the local share, not including the additional building costs to accommodate future increased enrollment and elective LFIs. The state's estimated portion is $53,849,896. The local share is estimated at $60,663,200. Currently, the anticipated millage needed for the project to be done all at once is 8 mills. It is important to note that this is not the finalized plan. The current stage of the plan is to get local opinions on the current plan to ultimately go back to the master plan and make adjustments based on local opinions and recommendations. To view all the information from the beginning of the facility master plan, visit https://sites.google.com/view/tiffin-master-planning On this website, citizens can also give their input on the facility master plan among viewing documents, plans and costs.