North Tama Principal Taylor Howard, right, smiles alongside assistant principal Jordy Brown, left, and Larson Construction’s Chris Henschel last Wednesday (Sept. 4) during demolition of the home at 600 S Main Street located on the east side of the district’s campus. The home, which was acquired in 2021 by the district for $98,500, is one of two along Hwy 63 that will be demolished to make way for a new high school addition. Construction on the addition is slated to begin next week. PHOTO COURTESY OF JORDY BROWN

TRAER – The North Tama County Community School District began the process last Wednesday of constructing a new high school addition by demolishing the first of two homes located east of the school’s campus along Hwy 63.

The knockdown was part of the first phase of the district’s long-term facility master plan.

“I am so excited for our students and for our community for construction to begin on our new high school and other facility upgrades,” North Tama Principal Taylor Howard, a 2009 graduate of the district, told the newspaper following demolition of the first house by Larson Construction. “Having a new modern learning environment will help students achieve their academic goals. It will also help support our teachers with the tools needed to provide great instruction to our students. I am excited for our students, families, and community to see the completed project!”

The groundbreaking on the new addition has been a long time coming after the school board voted back in December of 2020 to engage in a facility study with Align Architecture & Planning based in Waterloo. Over the next two years, the board worked with not only Align but also Modus Engineering and Plunkett Raysich Architects to formulate a facility master plan ‘roadmap.’

In March of 2023, the district attempted to pass a bond referendum to pay for the first phase of the four-phase roadmap – what’s been colloquially referred to as ‘The North Tama Plan’ by several area school districts – including a high school addition meant to replace the district’s deteriorating 1917 building. That first bond attempt failed by just six votes.

Homes at 606 and 600 Main Street/Hwy 63 in Traer pictured on Sept. 4 prior to demolition. Both homes will be knocked down to make way for the new North Tama High School building. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Later that fall, the district tried again and successfully passed a $14.85 million school bond as part of the November 2023 general election. The two-question public measure received 65% and 63% support, respectively, from the district’s voters with the first measure passing by 46 votes. A supermajority of 60% was needed to pass.

Former North Tama superintendent David Hill, who steered the district through both the facility planning study and the subsequent bond referendums before leaving at the end of the 2023-24 school year to take over as superintendent at Waverly-Shell Rock, provided comment to the newspaper on the groundbreaking in an email sent last Friday.

“I’m proud of the North Tama Community for supporting this project, and for taking the first step toward solidifying the district’s long-term future,” Hill wrote. “I’m so excited for North Tama!”

According to North Tama Superintendent John Cain, who took over following Hill’s departure, the clearing of the lot for the addition is well underway with the project due to officially start next week.

Back in August of 2021, the district purchased the home at 600 S Main Street for $98,500 in hopes that someday a new school building could be constructed in the space. This past March, the adjacent home at 606 S Main Street was also purchased by the district for $141,000.

A rendering of what the new North Tama High School building will look like. The corner of the building is located at the intersection of Hwy 63 (Main Street) and Sixth Street.

In addition to the new high school addition, the current project also includes secure entry upgrades across the K-12 campus, a reconfiguration of the locker rooms and weight room at the high school in order to become ADA-compliant, the paving of the existing back parking lot, and selective maintenance on other parts of campus.

Renderings provided to the newspaper by Andrew Bell with Align Architecture show the new addition will be located near the intersection of Hwy 63 (Main Street) and Sixth Street and will feature a sign running up and down along the building’s corner proclaiming ‘North Tama Redhawks.’

The entire Phase I project is slated to last roughly a year and a half.

“In my opinion, the overall project will move relatively quickly,” Cain said in an email. “The overall timeline for the project from start to finish is currently 16 months. The targeted deadline is December and our students will be moved in by January of 2026.”

Following the completion of Phase I, the district’s master facility plan includes three more phases with Phase II set to address the 1917 building by demolishing and replacing it with a 25,000 square-foot, one-story addition that would house art, library, a commons, the kitchen, administration, pupil services, and more.

Rendering of the Redhawk weight room which will be reconfigured and renovated.

The projected cost of Phase II is estimated at $12.955 million in 2029. The district anticipates as much as $2.5 million of that cost coming from PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy) and SAVE (one-cent sales tax levy), thereby reducing the impact on property taxpayers.