Photo by Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com

The sale of school property and a potential new business is on the horizon for South Tama Schools and the City of Tama.

A proposal to purchase the lot at 806 State Street for $50,000 has been received from National Retail Development, LLC, a Chicago-based developer.

School board president, Penny Tyynismaa indicated during Monday’s regular school board meeting that, pending the sale, the intended use of the lot would be to construct a new Family Dollar retail store.

Following a brief discussion, the board voted 5-0 to set a public hearing on Monday, Feb 1 for the sale of the school property. The hearing will provide an opportunity for community members to express their approval or displeasure in the property sale.

Family Dollar is owned by Dollar Tree, Inc which operates more than 15,000 stores nationwide.. Other Family Dollar locations in Iowa include Marshalltown, Adel, Bellevue, Cedar Rapids, Chariton, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, DeWitt, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Maquoketa, Mason City, Missouri Valley, Sioux City and Waterloo.

The convenience retailer sells food, health and beauty products, toys, household cleaners, apparel and home fashion goods at prices generally ranging from $1 to $10.

The property on State Street owned by the school district was home to the former STC Primary school building since its construction in 1914. Following the construction of the current South Tama Elementary building, the STC Primary was disposed of in a fire department training session in 2007 and the lot has sat empty since that time.

In 2014, a Des Moines based company, Newbury Living, attempted multiple housing development projects in Tama-Toledo, which included the potential purchase of the STC Primary lot. The deal ultimately fell through and there appears to have been no serious buyers for the property since then.

Should the property sale proceed forward, it would appear that National Retail Development would need to apply for commercial zoning as the land is currently zoned for residential usage. National Retail Development was not immediately available for comment.

School to return full time

The board voted 4-1 at a previous meeting to return to 100% in person learning starting 2nd semester.

Mandy Lekin made the motion to return to 100% in person learning starting Tuesday, Jan. 26. Ron Houghton 2nd the motion. Alan Kline and Penny Tyynismaa also voted in favor of the motion. Clint Werner opposed.

Dismissal time will remain at 2:15 p.m.

Preschool will remain hybrid due to space at the Catholic church unless more adequate classroom space is found.

Gym Rentals

After hearing from STC Activities Director, Anthony Jahr, it was decided to continue to allow local groups to rent facilities.

Jahr said the school feels comfortable opening up gyms for competitions under the school’s guidance.

In other business…

Jenn Anderson and Amy Stotts spoke about the Lexia Core 5 Curriculum.

The school’s nutrition fund is currently operating at a deficit of -$37,149. According to STC Business Manager Mary Boege, the shortfall is due to only serving half of the students each day but with the same wages going out. She believes it will balance out once the district returns to 100% in person learning.

Personnel

Bailey Chyma was approved as a volunteer coach.

Elizabeth Hahle resigned from her position as 5-8 ESL teacher.

At the Jan. 4 meeting retirements were accepted for Shelly Riley, Jeff DeBondt, Elaine Gibson, Linda Aziz, Chris Quigley, Nancy Dostal and Mary Boege.

A softball fundraiser was approved.

The school’s travel policy was discussed. An area of concern for the school is how to handle staff or families who want to travel out of the country. Currently the school was requiring a 14-day quarantine for anyone who travels outside of the U.S. There had been some concern raised against that policy. Smith will gather more information to bring to the next board meeting.

A closed session was held to discuss current litigation. No action was taken.

School board meetings will return to in-person starting Monday, Feb. 1. The location for the meetings will be the gym inside the STC Partnership Center at 215 W 9th St. in Tama. Face coverings will be required for all who attend and social distance guidelines will apply. An option for virtual meetings will still be provided.