Current plans are for the school to begin in August for students entering ninth grade, with an additional class added each year.

Press Release

As the South Bend Community School Corp. weighs a final decision about the proposed New Tech High School, the city’s Redevelopment Commission will consider whether to take steps, including $1.3 million in support, to keep the project moving forward.

Staff from the City’s Department of Community and Economic Development is recommending that the Redevelopment Commission on Friday approve:
- $1.3 million in Tax Increment Financing dollars from the Airport Economic Development Area for design and construction related to establishing a New Tech High School in South Bend.
- The use of the funds for the Marycrest Building or another suitable site in the Airport Economic Development Area (the latter subject to Redevelopment Commission approval at a later date).
- An agreement authorizing the City’s Board of Public Works to carry out design and construction for the project on the Commission’s behalf.

“By taking these actions, the Redevelopment Commission will be demonstrating its support for the project, and allowing the project to proceed for the school year, subject to the school board making a final decision,” said Don Inks, the City’s director of economic development.

Mayor Stephen J. Luecke was part of a community delegation that in 2007 visited a model New Tech High School site in California.

“This initiative will help our children develop the talents and skills that are needed for success in both the academic and business world,” Luecke said. “With the unprecedented opportunity presented to this community through the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery, it is imperative that our children be prepared for emerging high-tech and other opportunities. I support the proposed action by the Redevelopment Commission to take the next step to allow planning to proceed with its very tight time schedule.”

For more than a year, the school corporation has had a committee studying the feasibility of a new tech high school in support of efforts to graduate students with knowledge and skills needed for the 21st century.

New Tech High School is a technology-rich school design that uses project-based learning with a rigorous curriculum, according to the SBCSC web site. The model promotes improved teaching and curriculum by enhancing the connection between school and real-work application.

The school corporation has received support in the planning from the New Tech Foundation and the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis. The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County also has agreed to work in partnership with the schools on the effort.

Current plans are for the school to begin in August for students entering ninth grade, with an additional class added each year. According to the school corporation, funding to support the renovation is needed for remodeling work to begin on schedule to enable completion of the facility by July in preparation for the first class.

TIF districts are a public-financing method designed to capture the increased property tax value that results from economic growth because of public and private investment. This growth generates new tax revenues, known as the increment, which finances improvements in distressed or underdeveloped areas where economic growth would not otherwise occur.

TIF revenues may not be used for operating expenses, such as salaries and benefits or utility costs.

The Airport Economic Development Area, the largest TIF district in South Bend with more than 60 percent of the overall TIF resources, was expanded in 2007 to include LaSalle Square, the Marycrest-Hurwich area along Western Avenue and the Sample-Ewing Development Area, home to the Studebaker Corridor and Ignition Park.

Source: The City of South Bend