Stairwells like this one at the South Tama County Middle School are among the safety and accessibility issues the district hopes to address in the STC Middle School Project that is up for a public vote on March 1. -- Photo provided

On March 1, 2022, there will be a vote within the South Tama County Community School District. This vote will decide if South Tama Community School District will build a new middle school or remain in the current building. The Iowa Juvenile Home, which the state currently owns, is the proposed location of a new middle school. Meaning, the state of Iowa has to pay for upkeep of this building. These conditions are not ideal for anybody.

By utilizing the Iowa Juvenile Home location, our community stands to benefit in many ways. The greatest benefit of passing this bond issue is the opportunity it gives students to achieve greater academic performance. The land would also potentially be used to create more housing that the towns of Tama-Toledo are interested in because of their housing issues.

A common argument about the relocation of the middle school is that we would be moving from one old school to another, so what is the point? Yes, the Iowa Juvenile Home is younger by a few years, which could be seen as a small advantage, following the fact that they both are over 100 years old. The relocation of the middle school to the Iowa Juvenile Home area would most certainly require many remodelizations and expansion. If our students remain at the current middle school, future renovations that are clearly needed would not be in any assurance. Moving to a new site would allow for updates to many features the current middle school lacks. These insufficient features put students in potentially harmful ways.

Safety hazards at the middle school building, which students have used for over 107 years, are believed to be a vital concern. On multiple occasions the middle school has had incidents putting students and staff in harm’s way. I have multiple family members who have attended STC Middle School at its current location. I’ve been told that only a few of the many issues are resolved every few years. Temporary fixes are added to correct the issues but just fail over time, and the process repeats. At the Iowa Juvenile Home, the school would have improvements to correct these hazardous and embarrassing issues.

The classrooms at the current middle school are minuscule and limit students educationally. An expansion in the quality and quantity of the rooms is necessary for better academic production. The new school building could provide new academic courses for students to meet their highest potential.

Hallways and staircases inside the current South Tama County Middle School. -- Photos provided

A bigger gym with extra multi-rooms would be provided as well. Athletics are strongly encouraged and participated in by many students at South Tama Community Schools. Currently, athletes have to utilize high school facilities because the current middle school location does not provide adequate resources. A new track and football/soccer field could be added with the Iowa Juvenile Home relocation. The outdoor areas of the new middle school would include more parking options, larger play and equipment for recess purposes, a proper cafeteria, and extra areas for if the school is in need of an extension within the years to follow

Aside from indoor gym and outdoor expansions, traffic concerns will be addressed when voting yes to the bond issue. For example, bus traffic could be limited due to students needing rides across town for activities. In the rural towns of Tama-Toledo, traffic control is an issue that has been around for a long time, so limiting bus traffic would help those outside of the school district as well as those within.

Among the larger classrooms, which accommodates more students in our growing district, the new building would contain automatic locked doors, not wood like the current

fire-hazardous middle school has. The temperature control in the new school would be addressed by voting yes to the proposed bond, as the current middle school does not have air conditioning in every class and the radiators are exposed. I believe that this will benefit students by keeping them safe and increasing their instructional time, rather than having school end early due to lack of high temperatures.

The current accessibility for people with disabilities is time consuming and very inefficient; changes to accessibility would help those in need tremendously. Wheelchair access is a complication that the middle school needs to address. Exiting the current building for STC middle school students is a huge concern for all, and worse for those with physical disabilities. If students at the middle school had a large emergency, classrooms on the third and second floors would be at the highest risk because of the lack of evacuation points at issue. Both of these problems can come to terms of resolution if people proceed to vote yes on the upcoming bond vote.

The reason I feel strongly about why South Tama should move forward with the Iowa Juvenile Home is because I am a current student at STC and have been in the building since 5th grade, outside of the temporary relocation due to the derecho and pandemic. I’ve witnessed some major struggles the school has been through these past several years. The perspectives of students when making this decision is important because every opinion should matter, especially the opinion of those it closely affects. When making this decision you have to take every aspect into consideration, and I believe students should have a voice.

I’d like to point out the fact that aside from my research on this topic, all of this information has been given to me by family, friends, STC staff members, personal experiences, and the architectural and design companies: Invision and Estes Construction. The urge for relocation has been in demand for some time now, so addressing these issues would be in the best interest of South Tama’s future. I believe that the only way we can ease the worries for this district as a whole is by relocating. As a student at South Tama County Community School, I would love to encourage everyone to vote yes to the relocation of the middle school on March 1st.

Madeline Paxton

8th Grade student, South Tama County Middle School