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In two booming Iowa communities, new buildings open for first day of school
New elementary schools are opening this month in two of the fastest-growing cities in Iowa - Tiffin and North Liberty.
Christine Grant Elementary in North Liberty, part of the Iowa City Community School District, opened Friday to grades kindergarten through six.
In Tiffin, the Clear Creek Amana Community School District's Oak Hill Elementary will welcome fourth- and fifth-graders on Monday.
Construction of both buildings was funded by property-tax backed bonds approved in 2017 by voters in each district.
Enrollment in both the Clear Creek Amana and the Iowa City school districts has skyrocketed in recent years.
Clear Creek Amana Community School District, which covers booming areas like Tiffin and parts of Coralville, has grown by nearly 1,000 students in the last decade, state data show.
Expected to cost a total of about $19 million, Oak Hill Elementary is expected to relieve crowding at other metro area schools, Tiffin and North Bend elementary schools.
The Iowa City district, the fifth-biggest in the state, has grown by 2,700 students in 10 years, according to state data.
Construction of Grant Elementary, with a final cost of $18.5 million, was part of a massive building frenzy over the summer in the district.
The school is named after the first women's athletic director at the University of Iowa. Grant held that position from 1973 until retiring in 2000.
Another nearby growing school district, Linn-Mar, is on its way to opening new elementary schools. A bond for new buildings failed in the Linn County school district in 2017, but succeeded in 2018.
Funds from the bond are being used to build two schools for the fifth and sixth grades, Boulder Peak and Hazel Point Intermediate. They are scheduled to open in August 2020.
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Students and parents on Wednesday check out Christine Grant Elementary School during its grand opening in North Liberty. The school held its first classes Friday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Athletic icon Christine Grant greets well wishers Wednesday near the entrance to the elementary school that bears her name in North Liberty. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Students and parents stream Wednesday into Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty. Voters in the district approved a bond issue in 2017 that led to a flurry of school projects over the summer. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Christine Grant greets well wishers Wednesday near the entrance to the elementary school that bears her name in North Liberty. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
A boy runs across the gymnasium floor Wednesday during the grand opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty. Classes there started Friday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
The media center during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Fiona Brumm writes her name on the front of her notebooks as she and her family visits her first grade classroom during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Fiona Brumm writes her name on the front of her notebooks as she and her family visits her first grade classroom during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Boxes of tissues are stacked on chairs as Mandy Brumm (right) helps her daughter Fiona Brumm with organizing her school supplies as they visit Fiona's first grade classroom during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Third-grader Ayla Trolliet is reflected in a mirror she put in her locker as she puts up photographs during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Ayla was excited to have her first locker ever. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Shrink-wrapped school supplies are arranged under lockers during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Henry Ciecior (second from left) talks to his mother Katherine (right) as he puts school supplies into his desk in his second grade classroom during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Dad Mark (second from right and younger sister Amelia, 3, also checked out the new school and classroom. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Third-grader Owen Dusing gets help with his school supplies from his parents Megan and Dan as well as younger sister Madelyn during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Megan Dusing (left) takes a photograph of her son third-grader Owen at his desk in during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Advice from former third-graders are seen for incoming third-graders to read during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Clockwise from bottom left: Ali Wear, sister Taylor, father Ryan, mother Ashley and sister Kinley pose for a family photo in Ali's third grade classroom taught by Sara Duytschaver during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Kindergarten teacher Kristin Baumgarth talks to one of her new students Delsen Gonzalez during the opening of Christine Grant Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
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