Tilford Elementary holds groundbreaking for building expansion

VINTON-SHELLSBURG, Iowa (KCRG) - Students, teachers, and board of education faculty gathered in the Tilford Elementary School parking lot to break ground on a multi-million-dollar expansion to the school building.

The Tiny Vikes Early Childhood Addition project is an expansion to the school building that will add six classrooms to the school to help combat childcare issues in the area.

“It will provide at minimum 52 childcare slots for our community,” Kyle Koeppen, Vinton-Shellsburg Community Schools superintendent, said. “Over the course of five years, the state of Iowa lost 42% of its childcare providers.”

The Vinton-Shellsburg Community School district received $1.5 million from Iowa Workforce Development last year which, through an agreement with the school district, will be paying for a significant portion of the project.

“It’s our privilege to be entrusted to this vital task,” Andrea Townsley, Tilford Elementary principal, said. “We will cultivate an environment where imagination knows no bounds, friendships are formed and life-long skills are developed.”

The project will be carried out by Miron Construction based in Cedar Rapids.