Tipp City school leaders outline construction timeline as residents raise zoning and hiring concerns

Tipp City Exempted Village School District staff said preconstruction work on the district's new building will continue through the end of the school year and demolition work will follow once students leave campus, and asked for patience as construction shifts around occupied schools.

At a public-comment period, two residents raised zoning and governance concerns, saying the planned building is 20 feet taller than the neighborhood height limit and questioning the district's use of an outside “owner representative” and personnel decisions tied to the project.

District staff member Aaron Moran provided the construction update and schedule. “We’re meeting on tomorrow to kinda finalize the logistic plan,” Moran said, describing coordination with district staff and the construction manager, Shook. He told the board that larger demolition activity is expected “more towards, like, mid June” as parts of the project move into active work.

During public comment, Don Watson praised teachers but pressed the board on project oversight and zoning enforcement. “I'm telling that to the board and the president. It's time you keep this man accountable,” Watson said, later adding that he was told by planning-board experience the district can only build to a 35-foot height limit in the neighborhood and that the plan being discussed exceeded that height.

A second public commenter (recorded on the agenda as the next speaker) criticized the district's procurement and personnel choices related to the project, saying the board approved a friend of the district as owner representative and that district documents continued to list Moran as the owner representative. The speaker named a person, Ken Worman, as someone the district had hired as owner representative but said they had not seen him at community meetings. The commenter argued that the project had been presented to the public as a two-story building but that the current plan is taller.

Board members and staff did not take formal action on the building update during the meeting; the presentation was informational and no motion or vote on the project design, height, or permitting was recorded. The district's treasurer and other staff discussed preconstruction purchase orders later in the meeting, including a multi‑million dollar purchase order for architectural services, but those financial items were presented separately and were approved on the consent/appropriations items later in the agenda.

The public comments raised questions about the district's authority and permitting responsibilities. Commenters referenced a 35-foot height limitation for the neighborhood and the Tipp City planning process; board discussion and staff responses during the meeting did not include a formal zoning citation or a permitting decision during the public session.

The board noted the item was an update and that more detailed construction logistics would be finalized in coming weeks; no formal direction to staff about project redesign, permitting, or changes to the owner-representative contract was recorded at the meeting.

Looking ahead, staff indicated demolition and heavier construction activity would increase after students leave campus in mid June, and asked the community for patience as schedules and temporary logistics change around occupied school facilities.