Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour), center, watches as contractors with VLS Real Estate work to frame up the interior at the future home of Tama-Toledo Christian School (TTCS) on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Tama. Fisher, who represents much of Tama County and all of Poweshiek County, is president of TTCS’s board of directors. The new, private K-8 school – which is being built in the old Catholic church building on Oswego Street – recently announced enrollment had opened for the 2025-26 school year. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TAMA – Construction at Tama-Toledo Christian School was in full swing last week when the newspaper stopped by for an update. From the framing of the first floor to exterior brickwork, the former Catholic church building on Oswego Street was teeming with activity.

“The beginning of the framing in the interior is another exciting step forward,” Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour), president of the new, private K-8 Christian school’s board of directors, said in a recent email. “The classrooms and offices are quickly taking shape and we are working through the many small changes that pop up as the plan leaps from a tiny two-dimensional drawing on paper to the full-size three-dimensional reality.”

Last Wednesday afternoon, contractor Eric Slagle with VLS Real Estate and his crew of seven including his son Devon, a 2021 South Tama County High School alum, were spread throughout the spacious sanctuary working on various aspects of the renovation, which began in earnest almost immediately after Slagle’s blueprints were approved by the state fire marshal’s office in late July.

“Everything’s going very well,” Slagle said. “All the second floor should be framed in the next week. We’re going to replace the front door [soon] with an entry door unit, keeping the stained glass [on either side].”

Slagle also has plans to preserve the original church’s beautiful hardwood floors which he and his crew uncovered after removing the carpet and then breaking up a nearly inch and a half of colored concrete that had been poured over the top.

A laborer with VLS Real Estate walks through the recently framed first floor of Tama-Toledo Christian School on Thursday, Aug. 29 in Tama. Contractors have been diligently working the last few weeks on both the interior framing and exterior brickwork at the former Catholic church building. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Prior to the nonprofit Tama-Toledo Christian School (TTCS) inking a lease for the building this past winter with Slagle, the 124-year-old church had sat mostly empty for years, boarded up and deteriorating in the residential area where it is located on Tama’s northeast side. Since the renovations have begun, curious members of the public have consistently showed interest in the project.

“We get people stopping by several times a day,” Slagle said. “They’re excited about it.”

While much of the interior of the building will become three-story classroom, office, and storage space (the third floor will only be used for mechanical and storage), the opposing ends of the building will remain open to the vaulted ceiling with the east end used as the chapel and the west end functioning as the school’s grand entry hall. An elevator is set to be installed in the northwest corner.

In an effort to keep construction costs down, TTCS board members have been sourcing as much used material as possible from schools working on their own upgrades.

“We’ve had some great opportunities [recently],” Slagle said. “We were able to get a lot of material from a school in Minnesota – doors, cabinets, sinks, toilets. Plus a lot of furniture.”

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TTCS also recently acquired a donation of used classroom furniture from nearby North Tama, a public school district that is currently in the process of breaking ground on a new high school building.

“God has surely blessed us at every critical step so far,” Rep. Fisher continued in his statement to the newspaper. “And we will appreciate the prayers from the community for the success of the school.”

TTCS registration opens

On Aug. 22, TTCS announced via email that registration for the 2025-26 school year had opened. As part of the enrollment process, the school board plans to hold monthly parent information meetings at New Life Evangelical Free Church, located at 211 W. 13th St. in Tama. The first meeting is set for next Tuesday, Sept. 10 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

As contractors hammered away nearby last Wednesday, Fisher stood in the back of the former church near where the chancel rail would have once stood while speaking to the newspaper.

A Bible verse written on the first floor framing at Tama-Toledo Christian School by a member of the nonprofit's board of directors. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

“We talk about the reason for a Christian school, why a family would want to send a child to one,” he said of the information meetings. “Then a lot of the mechanics.”

According to Fisher, three families have already committed to attending TTCS.

When asked about tuition payments, Fisher said the board plans to keep tuition in line with the Students First Act which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in January of 2023. The legislation grants educational savings account (ESA) vouchers to eligible families which can be used to cover tuition, fees, and other qualified education expenses at accredited nonpublic schools in Iowa. Currently, ESAs are worth $7,635; in turn, the state grants $1,205 to the public school district where the student resides.

“Our plan is the ESA will be the total tuition,” Fisher explained. “Other than a few fees like registration or class trips. But other than that, our goal is that’s the sole tuition. [But] that will not cover all of our costs.”

Thus, the need for fundraising. So far, the board is on track to meet its new fundraising goal of $150,000, having raised about $70,000 through donations and a spring dinner.

Devon Slagle, a 2021 STC alum, works as part of the construction team at Tama-Toledo Christian School last Wednesday in Tama. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

In terms of transportation, rural students enrolled at TTCS will be able to utilize public school busing per Iowa Code, which means TTCS plans to match South Tama County Community School District’s hours, Fisher said.

And while TTCS will initially operate as a covenant school and serve only Christian families, eventually the board would like to cast a wider net.

“Once we get established, we hope to open up a certain number of the seats for non-Christian students,” he said.

When asked if he still believes there is a place for public schools in Iowa’s communities, Fisher, an STC graduate himself, answered affirmatively.

“Absolutely. You’ve got to have the public school as well. One size does not fit all,” he said.

Tuckpointer Ed Wood of Vinton works on the exterior of the former Catholic church in Tama on Wednesday, Aug. 28, as part of the building's renovation for the new Tama-Toledo Christian School which is slated to open next school year. Wood told the newspaper the building's bricks were originally made at the long closed Tama brickyard. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

In his statement to the newspaper following the August enrollment announcement, Fisher wrote, “This is an exciting time for Tama-Toledo Christian School as we begin the enrollment process. We will be holding the Parent Information Meetings throughout the enrollment period which runs until the end of June 2025 for the August 2025 school start. We will be reaching out to prospective families through the media to help inform families of the opportunity.”

For updates on TTCS’s continuing development including future fundraising opportunities and enrollment information, email TTChristianSchool@gmail.com to be added to the school’s mailing list. The school board also provides updates on its Facebook page.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER