Three new schools under consideration for Clear Creek Amana – Iowa City Press Citizen

Holly Hines , hhines2@press-citizen.com 2:21 p.m. CT Feb. 11, 2017

Tiffin kindergarten teacher Mindy DeVries works with Addy Needham, left, and Lola Spencer in class on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017.(Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)Buy Photo

Teachers in Tiffin said their community is welcoming and attentive to its schools.

They said the city has a small-town vibe, situated around the corner from Coralville, but not too small.

Perhaps these features drew a flock of newcomers to the cityin recent years, causing the Clear Creek Amana Community School District's enrollment to ramp up.

So, to plan for even more projected growth, including new families in North Liberty and Coralville, the district is looking at openingtwo new elementary schools and a replacement high school if voters pass two potential general obligation bond referendums in the next five years.

The first $33.8 million bond issue, which could take place in September, would also includeimprovements at Amana Elementary and a new gym at Clear Creek Elementary, among other upgrades.

Information compiled this school year by RSP and Associatesprojects the district's enrollment to increasenearly 140percent by 2021-22, risingfrom 1,361students in 2004-05to an estimated 3,207students.

In the 2010 census count, Tiffin had nearly 2,000 people, but City Administrator Doug Boldt estimates thepopulation may have hit 3,000 since.

"If were not there right now, were pretty darn close," he said, noting the city is seeing a surge of residential property growth north of Highway 6.

The referendum in September would help the district prepare for an influx of familiesin part by garnering dollars for a $21.2 million elementary school nearTiffin Elementary, which opened in 2015, said Superintendent Tim Kuehl. The new elementary school would open in 2022.

A second, roughly $90 million bond issue in 2022 would include another elementary and a new, 1,800-student high school to replace the current building, which the district could use as a replacement middle school. This would free up the middle schoolfor elementary programming and allow the district to consider a new grade configurationfor the elementary schools, Kuehl said.

He said he doesn't anticipate either bond issue would increase residents' property tax rate. Increasing property valuation would generate extra dollars for the projects, he said, although the district would also rely on an extension of the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education sales tax to fund roughly $40 million in project costs.

Kuehl said he is confident the new buildings will be needed.

All indications are that the continued growth is there," he said.

School supplies fill stack of containers at Tiffin Elementary on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017.(Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

This comes after voters in 2014 overwhelmingly approved a $48 million bond issue that funded Tiffin Elementary, along with additions at the middle and high schools and other renovations.

Teachers at Tiffin Elementary said they support a new elementary sooner rather than later. They said they're already seeing the effects of enrollment growth, even in the school's second year, as new students join their classes.

Kristin Greathouse worked with 20 second-grade students Thursday on reading activities. She said she supports proactive facility planning that keeps up with growing residential development.

"Our district's growing, and the need is going to be there," she said. "Certainly, within the next year or two, this building will be full."

Greathouse andteachers Mindy DeVries and Allison Ruebel said they worry aboutgrowing class sizes if a new school doesn't open soon, a situation that would reduce their one-on-one and small-group time with young students.

DeVries, a kindergarten teacher with 22 students, noted small class sizes are especially crucial in Grades K-2, whenteachers focus on intervening early to help students who might struggle academically.She said all three kindergarten teacherswelcomed multiple new students this year.

"We're definitely seeing the growth happen at this age," DeVries said.

Tiffin principal Dan Dvorak said the school's instructional capacity is about 450 students, and enrollment is already over 400. He noted the building's structural capacity is 550, but the 450 benchmark accounts for favorable class sizes.

Dvorak said without a bond issue andnew elementary, the district will reach a point when Tiffin students must travel to the district's less crowded elementaries inOxford and Amana.

At some point, we just run out of physical space to put kids," he said.

Dvorak said he supports the idea of exploring new grade configurations for elementary school and wants to study examples in other school districts to develop a plan.

In North Liberty, principal Brenda Parker said North Bend Elementary is poised to breach its capacity again next year, after just two years of crowding relief that came with Tiffin Elementary's opening.

Were expecting we will be squeezed for space again," she said.

Parker said staff might resort to holding class in theteachers' lounge and library next year. She said she supports a new elementary in Tiffin soon and thinks North Liberty might be the right spot for the next elementary.

The upcoming bond issue, if approved, would also authorize spending on a security upgrade at North Bend. The school would renovate its entrance, creating a new process for visitors, Parker said, noting the renovation will help staff track who comes and goes.

"I hope people get out to vote, and get us the space that we need, so we can continue to educate the kids the best that we can," Parker said.

ReachHolly Hinesathhines2@press-citizen.comor at 319-887-5414 and follow her on Twitter at@HollyJHines.

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Three new schools under consideration for Clear Creek Amana - Iowa City Press Citizen