The halls of Yellow Springs Schools were filled once again with the voices of eager young students Thursday, Aug. 21 — the first day of school. Though the end of summer break is always bittersweet, students were wearing smiles (as shown above) as they reunited with friends and teachers and settled into their studies. (Photo courtesy of YS Schools)
A new school year begins
- Published: September 4, 2025
The YS Board of Education held its most recent meeting Thursday, Aug. 14, right on the heels of the first day of school for the 2025–26 school year. Before the board were discussions of the new year ahead, including changes to traffic around both campuses.
With the closure of Short Street near Mills Lawn and renovation and new construction at both campuses, new Mills Lawn Principal Becca Huber — attending the first school board meeting of her tenure with the district — advised that drop-off and pick-up will look “very different than they have in the past.” She and McKinney/YS High School Principal Jack Hatert noted that entrances for students have shifted at both campuses, with Mills Lawn students now entering the building near the gym and high school students entering near the cafeteria.
“It’s going to be more important than ever before that people pay attention to procedures and be patient,” she said.
Ahead of the first day of school last week, the school district issued reminders for local drivers detailing best practices when traveling around town, particularly near campuses at the beginning and end of school days:
• Don’t block the crosswalk when stopped at a red light or waiting to make a turn, forcing pedestrians to go around you; this could put them in the path of moving traffic.
• In a school zone when flashers are blinking, stop and yield to pedestrians crossing the crosswalk or intersection.
• Always stop for a school patrol officer or crossing guard holding up a stop sign.
• Take extra care to look out for children in school zones, near playgrounds and parks, and in all residential areas.
• Don’t honk or rev your engine to scare a pedestrian, even if you have the right-of-way.
• Never pass a vehicle stopped for pedestrians.
• If you’re driving behind a bus, allow a greater following distance than if you were driving behind a car.
• Never pass a bus from behind — or from either direction if you’re on an undivided road — if it is stopped to load or unload children. It is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
• If bus lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended, traffic must stop.
• The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit the bus.
• When passing a bicyclist, proceed in the same direction slowly, and leave 3 feet between your car and the cyclist. Watch for bikes coming from driveways or behind parked cars.
• The most common cause of collision is a driver turning left in front of a cyclist. Watch for bike riders turning in front of you without looking or signaling; children especially have a tendency to do this.
Facilities construction update
Chris Kromer of Conger Construction, the firm overseeing demolition, construction and renovation at both district campuses, gave an update on the facilities upgrade project.
He said the project is still on-budget, and the community can look forward to a “facelift” at Mills Lawn this September, when new windows are set to be installed. The second phase of renovation at Mills Lawn, which includes the school’s administrative offices and nearby classrooms, is set to be complete by the end of this year; Conger will head into the third and final phase of renovation in January 2026, with a projected “move-in” set for September 2026.
On East Enon Road, the schools’ new full-size gym is projected to be completed by next spring, with the demolition of the high school’s tower set for May–August 2026. Students are expected to begin moving into the schools’ new wings, which will replace the tower and the already-demolished “shoebox” middle school building, by October of 2026, barring significant delays. The campus is expected to achieve LEED gold certification, indicating the design’s adherence to environmentally sustainable practices.
Policy changes ahead
Possible changes tied to proposed state legislation were also discussed at the Aug. 14 meeting. Senate Bill 156, introduced in March this year, if passed, would require Ohio schools to implement a curriculum that promotes the “Success Sequence:” graduate high school, get a full-time job and get married before having children.
A similar bill, House Bill 269, if passed, would also require “Success Sequence” instruction, alongside a state-developed curriculum instructing students on “character traits and fundamental values deeply rooted in the history and tradition of the United States.”
Superintendent Terri Holden said that, though currently Ohio law only provides funding for school districts to teach the “Success Sequence,” it “could become a teaching requirement” down the road.
Holden also noted some policy changes coming for the district, including that schools allow qualifying students to miss up to eight hours of in-school class time for driving instruction — no more than two hours per day, for up to four days. Looking ahead, she noted that the district will also have to create provisions for how students — who, with a few exceptions related to individual education plans, are not allowed to use phones during the school day — will be able to access their devices in the event of an emergency.
Concerning district finances, Treasurer Jay McGrath said the reporting deadline for the district’s five-year forecast has moved from November to Oct. 15, with a second forecast due at the end of February. He also reported that the state has imposed a 15% cap on administrative expenses for public school districts, though he noted that districts are still seeking clarity on what counts as administrative costs beyond salaries for district administrators.
Advocacy updates
Following the board’s regular meeting, school board member Dorothée Bouquet alerted the News via email that two resolutions approved by the board earlier this year to amend the Ohio School Board Association, or OSBA, Legislative Platform will be presented to and voted on by the OSBA Delegate Assembly in November.
The OSBA’s Legislative Platform guides its legislative advocacy and lobbying efforts.
At its March 13 regular meeting, the school board approved resolutions urging amendments to the OSBA’s platform in support of funding a universal free school meals program and increased funding for special education throughout the state. Bouquet noted that YS Schools’ resolutions were two among nine total from Ohio school boards which were approved to be included in the OSBA’s list of possible amendments to its platform.
Federal USDA grants funded universal free school meal programs for public schools in 2020 and 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic; Bouquet, who drafted the March resolutions, and fellow board members have repeatedly expressed support for the state creating its own universal free lunch program since the federal program ended in 2022.
“I am hopeful that the delegates will empower OSBA … to lobby the legislature to feed all public school students and properly fund special education,” Bouquet wrote this week. “This may sound like a small step, but it is a decisive step in the long game of fixing public education funding in Ohio, and I am proud that Yellow Springs helped move this forward.”
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