Moran and citizens begin plans for PK-8 school building

Superintendent Aaron Moran, with Martin English and others, met with citizens at L.T. Ball Intermediate School to begin planning for the student-centered functions and features which will be built into the new PK-8 building. Tipp voters passed a bond issue for the building’s cost last November, 2023. Citizens were grouped at tables in the L.T. Ball auditorium and were asked to list the items which would benefit students the most, in three categories:

• safety measures in building design to keep students safe by keeping potential harms out of the new building

• safety measures in building design to keep students safe from potential harms occurring inside the new building     

• changes which might enhance student learning and the skills needed to be successful in the future, in two categories:

• student engagement: their thinking, listening, writing, solving problems, communicating effectively, reading critically, debating, etc.

• student opportunities: what is missing from the current curriculum and/or extracurricular activities

For example, someone suggested that all entrances have two sets of doors, an inner and an outer door, with incoming access through the inner door controlled from a central location. Someone else suggested having cameras in every room which would normally be off and turned on only in emergencies. All suggestions were collected by Moran for consideration for the new building.

The next session for citizen input will be Thursday, May 9, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at LT Ball Intermediate School. This session will focus on design vision and shaping school spaces.