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PK-5 Elementary Addition & Renovation Project
The Tipp City Exempted Village School District is placing a 5.40 mill ($35.75 million) 27-year bond levy on the May, 7 2019 ballot to renovate LT Ball Intermediate and to build a 94,000 square foot addition to provide new classrooms for all students in grades K-5. The renovations and additions would occur on the existing Hyatt school campus, and Nevin Coppock, the bus garage, and the tennis courts would be demolished and abated to provide new parking and traffic options to address congestion in the area during arrival and dismissal.
The renovated and extended elementary school will be designed for approximately 1250 students and accounts for the growth projections Tipp City Schools are currently anticipated to see over the next decade. It will replace the existing Nevin Coppock School (Grades K-1) and Broadway School (Grades 2-3), and will move the classrooms for grades 4-5 from the original 1974 structure of LT Ball Intermediate into the new classroom addition. The plan requires NO temporary "swing school" space with modular units. A new bus garage and tennis courts will be constructed on the property near Tippecanoe High School near Donn Davis Way.

Important Topics
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The Project Timeline
The following timeline is the optimistic progression of the project. As with any complex construction effort, other factors can and will affect the progress. Even still, the goal is to get students into the new addition for the Fall of 2021.
May 7, 2019 Bond Issue Summer 2019 Design Work Started Early Spring 2020 Start Site Construction at LT Ball Summer 2021 PK-5 Move into the Addition Fall 2021 Abatement / Demo of Nevin Coppock and Broadway Late 2021 Completion of the Project -
Traffic Concerns
Student pick-up and drop-offs have created headaches for not only students and parents but the neighbors of the Hyatt campus. As the schools consider rearranging the campus and adding two additional grade levels, a lot of thought is going into traffic patterns, student safety, and the convenience of neighbors and traffic on Hyatt St.
Objectves
- Provide an entrance and exit for parents for arrival and drop off that provides a quick, smooth, and safe process.
- Provide a safe and smooth route for school buses that drop off and pick up students close to their classrooms.
- Move the pick-up/drop-off process off of Westedge Drive to alleviate car and pedestrian traffic.
- Limit traffic congestion as much as possible on Hyatt St during the high-traffic times.
Action Steps
- The school district has begun a traffic study on Hyatt as of January 2019 in order to develop a plan to best address these objectives.
- The school district has formed a community focus group (Hyatt Good Neighbor) to hold active conversations on this topic throughout the planning of this project.
- The site diagrams provided on this page are currently conceptual and will be adjusted based off additional information we gather throughout the process.
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Renovation / Addition versus Building New
After the school district invested $4.8 million dollars into LT Ball (grades 4-5) and Tippecanoe Middle School (grades 6-8) to bring decades of additional life into the buildings without any increased tax burden on the Tipp City community, the ongoing needs of grades PK-3 still need addressed.
The renovation / addition plan provides excellent value to the community while addressing the short and long-term needs of students and staff:
Cost Comparison
- The addition/renovation project can be completed for $35.75 million. It includes a renovation of approximately 60% of LT Ball Intermediate School up to Ohio Design Manual Standards (OSDM) as well as an addition of over 94,000 square feet of new academic classroom space for grades K-5. Once the school district's number comes up with the Ohio Facilities Construction Committee and the co-funded credit for this project is received, the remainder of LT Ball can be brought up to OSDM standards and the remaining funds applied to pay down the bond debt, again lowering costs to Tipp City residents.
- To complete the same project as a new construction project from scratch would cost in excess of an estimated $45.8 million dollars.
Student Experience
- The current addition/renovation plan will NOT require students to hold classes in any temporary modular units.
- Completion of a new PK-5 facility from scratch as a new construction project would require one to two schools to spend multiple years in temporary modular classrooms.
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Renovation / Addition versus Renovation Only
A frequently asked question as the school district has been developing a facilities master plan is whether it is more cost effective to renovate the current facilities versus building new ones. In the case of Tippecanoe Middle School, renovation was far more cost-effective and extended the life of the building by 30 or more years without any additional taxes from Tipp City residents. For the elementary schools, the comparison of renovation of the existing structures to state standards versus the board-adopted plan, which involves renovation of LT Ball Intermediate School with an addition of over 94,000 square feet for new K-5 classroom spaces, is included below.
Renovate Existing Buildings to State Standards1
Broadway (Grades 2-3)2 Renovate to Replacement Cost Factor3: 99%$16.5M Nevin Coppock (Grades K-1) Renovate to Replacement Cost Factor3: 99%$9.2M LT Ball (Grades 4-5) Renovate to Replacement Cost Factor: 62%$10.1M Modular Classroom Rental During Renovations $1.5M TOTAL COST TO TAXPAYERS $37.3M Renovate LT Ball to State Standards & Add K-5 Classrooms
Current Bond Issue
$35.75M OFCC Financial Commitment
-$10M LT Ball Remaining Renovations
Completed using the OFCC ELPP credit$5.3M Sale of Broadway Site (estimate) -$.25M TOTAL COST TO TAXPAYERS $30.8M 1 OFCC will not invest in renovation of Nevin Coppock or Broadway Elementary.
2 Renovation pricing does NOT include any renovation of Tipp City Central.
3 When the cost to renovate a school exceeds 66% of the cost of replacing the building, an approved waiver application is required before the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission will invest in the renovation of a school facility. It is not typically deemed a sound investment by the State to invest in renovating such a property.