Big Walnut school officials recently toured the former Central Baptist Church that will soon become the school district’s central office.
During an Oct. 8 Big Walnut Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Angie Pollock had announced that the school district’s central office was moving from Big Walnut Intermediate School to warehouse space at the 117 Kintner Parkway transportation building.
However, during a Dec. 10 board meeting, Pollock announced that a different office space solution was in the works. The Kintner Parkway rehab project was off; district offices will move to the former Central Baptist Church facility at 110 Tippitt Court, next door to Noah’s Ark Day Care.
In mid-December, central office administrators and staff and board of education members toured the 5,198 square-foot Tippitt Court facility.
Pollock said the purchase price was $420,000. LUSK Architecture will be tasked with designing the building’s interior modifications and a conference room addition.
“We’re very grateful we were able to find something in the community that meets our needs,” Pollock said during the tour. “We believe this building will hold its value and be a great investment for taxpayers.”
Pollock said that, with a 300-plus student fourth-grade class entering the intermediate school next year, the district administration move frees up seven full-size classrooms and at least five small-group spaces that would be used for tutoring.
“We know that we’re going to need to build classroom space as the district grows,” Pollock said. “But freeing up existing space at the intermediate building is a lot less expensive than building classroom space right now.”
Pollock said the interior and parking expansion would allow the central office to move to Tippitt Court by July 1; the building addition would follow the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.
Pollock said the total project, with interior modifications, building addition and additional parking space, would cost just under $1 million.
“This building will be a good asset,” Pollock said. “It will be easy to market as the school district outgrows the facility.”
