NORTH BALTIMORE – The school board made some last-minute adjustments to student drop-off plans at the
elementary, as well as parking at the middle school/high school.
Parents of Powell Elementary children are asked to drop their children off, and pick them up, at the
south half-circle drive on Cherry Street. This will allow buses to use the drive along Main Street.
Classes started Wednesday.
Parents dropping off students or picking them up are asked to use the office entrance, but to not pull
into the drive, according to Assistant Principal Pamela Van Mooy.
Because of security upgrades, visitors will find the main doors locked, and will be buzzed into the
building, she added in her report to the board.
There will be no signs to alert parents of the changes, but staff will be out to direct traffic.
"We’re asking people to work with us and give it a try," she told board members.
At the new middle school/high school, about $3,000 is being spent to increase the number of parking
spaces. About 40 spaces will be added before the start of school: 16 spaces out front, another eight
near the bus parking area, and another 16 or so by the sports building.
The district, according to Superintendent Marlene North, only paid for 91 spaces through the Ohio School
Facilities Commission, which helped fund the school. Now that the project has been turned over to the
district, the additional parking is being added, she explained.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board took additional action on areas related to the new school.
Board members accepted $600 in donations for the landscape fund at the new school. With $800 accepted in
July, the fund is up to $2,980 according to Eve Baldwin, district treasurer. A special thanks was also
given to the Garden Club for their planting and landscaping behind the high school wing.
The board also gave approved to an estimate of $10,834 to Able Well Drilling to dig a well for irrigating
the football and softball fields.
The board also:
• Hired Nicole Lang as a sixth-grade teacher to replace Brooke Forsythe, who left after 14 years to take
a job with Van Buren schools. Lang is a Bluffton University graduate and received a one-year contract.

• Approved a contract with the Wood County Educational Service Center for services costing an estimated
$873,934. That amount is about $30,000 more than last year, according to North.
• Approved a five-year agreement with the village for police and security protection for events, through
July 31, 2015 at an estimated annual cost of $2,500. North said she expects that amount to be a bit less
as the school resource officer’s attendance at events will reduce the need for a village police officer.

• Accepted $27,052 in proceeds from the sale of the contents of the Main Building. "We are very
pleased. It exceeded my expectations," North said. The funds will go toward the sports building,
which should be done by the end of September.
• Approved an agreement with Transtar Security Systems Inc. for security at both Powell and the new
building for this school year, at a cost of $38 per month. The system will monitor for opening doors or
windows. Also, "it’s going to be so nice because we have security cameras at all locations,"
North said. There will be 16 cameras at each building, and will be capable of taping on a seven-day
loop.