Part 4 of 4
On Sunday, March 21, 2004, a new Tippecanoe High School opened its doors on Kessler-Cowlesville Road, and the gymnasium filled with 2,000 supporters. The dedication program included many thank-you speeches by school administrators and school board members, and entertainment was provided by various school groups. It was a celebration earned following a process that included ten years of work and, often, disappointments.
The effort to build a new high school began in 1994 when the thirty-year-old high school on Hyatt Street was found to be in need of repair and general upkeep caused by a lack of funds, not neglect. A capital improvement levy which failed in November 1993 was placed on the ballot again in April 1994. This time, there was an all-out campaign, and the levy passed with a 71% margin. That helped with the maintenance issues, but it didn’t address the overcrowding in both Nevin Coppock Elementary and the high school.
District administrators looked for any space they could find for additional classroom use. Among the adjustments, unused locker rooms were converted to art rooms, and a teachers’ lunch room became a classroom. Some Nevin Coppock students were moved to Broadway. The next year, those students were returned to Nevin Coppock after trailers were added in September 1997. Eleven high school classes were moved to L.T. Ball, the only building with space…