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New school addition open in Tampico
\nBy DAVID GIULIANI
\nMonday, August 6, 2012<\/p>\n
Copyrighted by Sauk Valley News<\/p>\n
TAMPICO \u2013 Voters in the Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico school district twice rejected referendums seeking taxpayer money to pay for additions to schools.<\/p>\n
But the district didn\u2019t give up. In 2010, officials found another source: The state gave more than $14 million of the $18.9 million needed for two construction projects.<\/p>\n
No referendum was needed.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, district officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of the majority of the first project at Tampico Middle School \u2013 an addition of a dozen classrooms.<\/p>\n
Beforehand, a number of officials spoke before a crowd inside the older part of the school.<\/p>\n
In 2009, Superintendent David Rogers told the school board that a state agency was revisiting the district\u2019s request for construction money.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe felt that we had a good chance to receive the funds for two building projects,\u201d said Jill Ringenberg, the school board\u2019s president.<\/p>\n
But many residents and board members doubted the possibility of success, she said, thinking the district had little chance to get the money after being placed 27th on the list.<\/p>\n
In October 2010, Ringenberg said, the state deemed the projects \u201cshovel ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that the first project, which started last year, ran on average 10 to 12 weeks ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother Nature did, of course, help in many ways,\u201d but architect Mark Miller and the construction management firm, Gilbane Building Co., contributed to the project going well, Ringenberg said.<\/p>\n
The second project \u2013 an addition to the high school \u2013 started late last year and should be completed by mid-2013, officials say.<\/p>\n
After the speeches, officials were given gold-colored scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon. Doug Wetzel, the board\u2019s vice president and a 36-year board member, stood in the center, holding an oversized pair of scissors.<\/p>\n
After the ceremony, residents poured into the building to look at the carpeted classrooms, already stocked with new desks. Even a computer lab was ready to go for Aug. 20, the first day of school.<\/p>\n
Many commented on the \u201cnew school smell.\u201d On one side of the addition is a cornfield, which will give students a close-up view of a pivot irrigation system.<\/p>\n
For the next year, Tampico Middle School students will continue to use the site. After that, it will be the site of Tampico Elementary School, which may be renamed in honor of Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n
During the open house, a small girl sat in the front row of a classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll be in this classroom when you\u2019re in second grade,\u201d a young boy told her.<\/p>\n
After this school year, the current Tampico Elementary School, built more than 70 years ago, will be closed. The site of the current middle school will have preschool through fourth grade, with districtwide fifth grade.<\/p>\n
The middle school students will be moved to Prophetstown High School, which will be converted to a regional school for sixth through 12th grades. The district is adding 17 classrooms to the high school, among other improvements.<\/p>\n
The school board has yet to determine what to do with the elementary school.<\/p>\n
The Tampico Middle School project is not completely done, the superintendent said. The contractor will build two more classrooms and a playground, likely to be done by fall, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[nggallery id=1] New school addition open in Tampico By DAVID GIULIANI Monday, August 6, 2012 Copyrighted by Sauk Valley News TAMPICO \u2013 Voters in the Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico school district twice rejected referendums seeking taxpayer money to pay for additions to … Continue reading