Six students will graduate from Wood Lane School in May.
This year’s Wood Lane graduates are Amy Morgan Bateman (Lake/Columbus Grove), Damien Christopher Below (Elmwood), Cole Connor Fausey (Rossford), Alexander Jordan Hall (Bowling Green), Alex Emilo Pagan Perez (Perrysburg), and James Allen Stevens (Bowling Green/Delaware). The students have met their school district requirements for graduation via the standards established by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Graduation will be held May 24 at 1 p.m. at the Bowling Green Community Center, 1245 W. Newton Road. Families, guests and members of the community are invited to attend in-person.
“If you never attended a Wood Lane school graduation, it is a day of celebrations but is an emotional day. You will see the passion from the students and families, as well as the staff members of the Wood Lane School,” said Superintendant Brent Baer said. “We would certainly love to see you there. We have six graduating students, which is the largest class we have had in 10 years.”
During its meeting on April 15, the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities approved the 2024-25 calendar and contingency plan for additional calamity days as presented.
“We as the board of developmental disabilities, we are steeped in regulatory and requirements, so frequently you will see different calendars come in,” Baer said.
The board also approved a bus purchase from Rush Truck Centers for $154,434.
The 2024 Capital Plan also includes constructing two homes for Youth with Intense Needs (MSY). WCBDD contracted with Thomas Porter Architects and MDA Engineering for the design and specifications of these homes. The budget is $4 million (plus a $400,000 contingency) for this project.
The homes will be constructed on two parcels in the Wood Acres subdivision currently under development west of the school. Each home will be accessible, including a play area, a sensory room, and a private space for family visits. There are four bedrooms and two full bathrooms for residents. A half-bath is designated for staff, and an additional half-bath will be in the visitation space. The ranch homes will have partial basements where electrical, mechanical, and sprinkler systems will be located.
The bid opening will be scheduled for early June. Construction is anticipated to begin in August.
“We continue to work the capital plan. The capital plan primarily was approved at the end of 2023 for all of 2024,” Baer said. “We continue to work through those different projects. For us, there is a lot of different measures. There is the approval of the capital plan, the individual projects within the capital plan, a request to go out for bid, and then there is the actual work of implementing the capital plan.”
