What was once the Iowa Juvenile Home will soon become the new South Tama County Middle School, with construction and renovations underway and an opening date set for the 2025-2026 school year. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

When the Iowa Juvenile Home/Girls State Training School closed at the order of then-Gov. Terry Branstad under controversial circumstances in 2014, the future of the building that housed it in the heart of Toledo was murky at best. After failed attempts by area legislators to reopen the facility, lawsuits and injunctions filed ultimately had no effect on its fate.

Ten years later, however, there’s a revived sense of optimism as the building is currently in the process of being transformed into the new South Tama County Middle School for students in grades 5-8 just a few blocks south of the current one — which is about a century old — thanks to a $28 million bond issue that passed with overwhelming support from district voters back in 2022. Other than a brief stint as a vaccination clinic during the pandemic, the former Juvenile Home sat empty for almost a decade.

As Superintendent John Cain explained during a recent interview, a previous plan that predated his arrival at STC was to move the middle school to the same site as the elementary and high schools on the north edge of Tama, but it ran into resistance before a $20.8 million bond issue failed with just 53.9 percent support — bond votes require a 60 percent supermajority.

“At some point, they started to explore other options, and that’s how they landed on the Juvenile Home. And I know there was a strong push from the community to kind of refurbish (and) rehabilitate this building,” Cain said.

STC Facilities Director Steve McAdoo and school board member Rick Hopper were part of some of the committees that solicited community feedback, and as Cain noted, they quickly found a consensus around making use of the Juvenile Home building.

The future main entrance to the new STC Middle School. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

“Our whole goal was to have a very elite place of learning when it’s all said and done. In our steering committee before the vote, that was our goal,” Hopper said. “The state was anxious to part with the property… We’re reusing this property, repurposing it, reusing it to carry our community and our school district into the future another 75, 80 years hopefully.”

McAdoo was grateful for the Toledo city leaders who provided assistance in applying for grants, and the level of support they ultimately received in the ballot referendum — 83 percent — is almost unheard of for school bonds.

Cain touted its prime location and the space availability compared to the current middle school as two of the reasons this project made so much sense. In square footage, once the new gym, cafeteria, kitchen and concessions, locker rooms, weight/work out room, and fine arts classrooms for instrumental and vocal music are added, the district will go from about 58,000 at its current building to 97,663 at the new site. Additionally, a portion of the space serves a dual purpose as designated to include a large construction grade storm shelter.

“Obviously, we’re coming from a very outdated middle school right now, and it’s very cramped. I think space is the biggest thing. They’re gonna have a larger gym but also a larger commons area,” Cain said. “So right now, if you visit the middle school during lunch, they are packed in the lunchroom. This will give them adequate space for lunch.”

He went on to describe the building as “unique” with rooms differently sized, but overall, the district will gain substantial classroom space, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) center and an expanded fine arts area to meet the growing programs. Hopper also touted increased safety and security as a major benefit, and the current middle school does not have air conditioning or a parking lot, which will be included in the project.

As Cain put it, the ongoing progress on the project has become a point of interest around the two contiguous communities that make up the heart of the school district.

“There’s probably nobody more excited than our students and staff to get into a larger building. It’s also gonna provide our district another gathering point where, as a district, we can all meet,” he said. “I do feel the energy is positive, and the momentum is good. And the support is there.”

With some monies rearranged to be put toward other facility improvements, the total value of the bond is now around $35 million with $2 million required to stay in cash on hand. In addition, voters will have a chance to reinstate the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), which is primarily used for facilities, security and technology, during an upcoming vote on March 5 with only a simple majority required for passage.

When the ribbons have been cut and the doors are finally open, district leadership hopes to look back on a job well done that has transformed what could have become a classic small town eyesore into something everyone in the district can feel proud to have been a part of.

“I think there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then, so that’s kind of an off in the distance thought right now, but yeah, when you walk around every time you’re in the building and you can see the progress they’re making, you get a little more excited,” Cain said.

Hopper agreed wholeheartedly.

“Everybody should be excited. Teachers will have a great place to work. Who doesn’t like a new place to go to work? A new place to work, a new place for the kids to learn and educate, to me, it’s gonna be outstanding,” he said.

Garling Construction of Belle Plaine is serving as the general contractor, and ISG is providing architecture services.