New Philadelphia High School students and staff members will have another safe place to park after this house on Ray Avenue NW comes down over the summer. (Stacey Carmany, Tusco TV)

New Philadelphia, Ohio (WJER) - New Philadelphia school officials are working to get more students and staff out of the street-side parking spaces and into a new parking lot at the high school next school year. 

Superintendent David Brand says the school board agreed to purchase the property at 253 Ray Avenue for about $30,000. He says this will alleviate some of their safety concerns.

“I’m sure those community members who live in those neighborhoods know that we have to park along all those side streets along with the lots that we do have,” he says. “We definitely don’t have quite enough parking for our students and our staff during the day, let alone when we have the wonderful community that shows up to all of our evening events.”

Brand says he expects this project will add about 30-new spaces, with work beginning over the summer.

“We will be working with the tenants in moving out and then we will be - it’s called razing it - taking it to the ground safely and getting rid of the buildings that are on the property and graveling it so it’s a lot for us to.park,” he says.

Brand says they were pleased with the price they were able to get the property at. He says finding additional parking space can be a challenge in a city setting. 

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