The Safety Patrol was on the scene at a morning drop-off at Mills Lawn Elementary earlier this school year. (Photo courtesy of Yellow Springs Schools)
School board talks safety, start times and exam exemptions
- Published: April 2, 2026
Traffic safety around district campuses, new school start times and a student proposal to revise the high school’s exam exemption policy were among the topics discussed at the school board’s regular meeting Wednesday, March 11.
In recent weeks, school officials and community members have raised concerns about traffic safety near the district’s two campuses, citing inconsistent signage, faded crosswalk markings and visibility issues near pedestrian crossings.
In a Feb. 26 letter to Village Council included in the board’s agenda packet, Superintendent Terri Holden wrote that a recent on-site assessment confirmed several longstanding concerns, particularly following Council’s decision to reopen Short Street in February. That decision, Holden wrote, “once again altered traffic patterns around Mills Lawn School,” after which the district requested “temporary restrictions on left turns during school hours to improve traffic flow and student safety.”
Holden went on to note that the request prompted district leaders to take a closer look at safety implementations around both campuses; as a result of that closer look, Holden wrote, they concluded that “school safety signage at both campuses is inadequate.”
“Speed limit signage is inconsistent; school zone signs are either improperly placed or insufficient; there are no flashing crosswalk signs or flashing stop signs; and road markings and crosswalk paint have significantly faded,” Holden wrote.
The district’s letter formally requested that the Village consider signage and crosswalk improvements near Mills Lawn Elementary School and Yellow Springs Middle and High School. Holden wrote that the district would be willing to fund temporary signage if cost is a concern, but noted that the district does not have authority to install or modify roadway signage under state law.
Community member Mitzie Miller, a member of the Village’s Active Transportation Committee, has also been coordinating with Village officials, school staff and board members to review areas around the campuses where signage or crosswalk visibility could be improved.
“So now’s the opportunity for both parties, our school district and our Village, to step up and work together to create a safe environment for our students,” Miller said during the public comment portion of the school board meeting.
Miller said another issue she has observed involves parking spaces placed close to crosswalks, which can make it harder for drivers and pedestrians to see one another.
“You’ve got parking spots right next to it, which should be at least — we say 20 feet [away],” Miller said. “It has to do with visibility when the students are crossing the street, and also visibility for the drivers, that there’s nothing on either side of that crosswalk.”
The concerns were also addressed in a March 13 memo from Village Manager Johnnie Burns; that memo was included in the March 16 Council meeting agenda packet. In the memo, Burns wrote that the Village has asked Choice One Engineering to review the district’s proposed signage and crosswalk improvements. The engineering review will include “recommendations for temporary and permanent installations, as well as estimates of cost and feasibility,” Burns wrote. Once the review is complete, Village staff will return to Council with recommendations, estimated costs and a proposed timeline. The engineering recommendations are expected by mid-April.
Busing, start time changes approved
Wrapping up a conversation that began in January, the board approved new school start times and a consolidated K–12 busing schedule for the district.
Beginning next school year, Mills Lawn Elementary School will operate from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Students in grades five through 12 at Yellow Springs Middle and High School will attend from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and students in grades K–12 who qualify for busing will ride together.
District administrators have said over the last few months that the changes are intended to improve transportation efficiency and reduce instructional disruptions tied to athletics and other activities. The schedule change is expected to take effect next school year alongside the completion of the district’s facilities construction and renovation project.
“It will be an adjustment, but my understanding is that this is kind of the first piece of a bigger puzzle for us to become more efficient and allow our students more opportunities,” board President Amy Bailey said.
Students raise concerns over exams
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Yellow Springs High School junior class President Wills Oberg spoke to the board about the district’s attendance-based exam exemption policy.
Under the policy, students may earn two exam exemptions by maintaining 97% attendance during the semester — including excused and unexcused absences — while also having two or fewer unexcused tardies. Students may earn one exemption with 94% attendance and four or fewer unexcused tardies.
Oberg told the board that the policy has succeeded in encouraging attendance, but has also created unintended consequences for some students: Sick days, which are excused with a doctor’s note, currently count against the attendance threshold for exam exemptions, which Oberg said can pressure students to come to school while ill.
“For example, earlier this year, I had a fever, and the school nurse sent me home and told me I could not return the next day,” Oberg said. “As a result, I lost an exemption.”
Oberg also noted that juniors and seniors are given three excused days each year to visit prospective colleges, but those absences also count against the exemption threshold. To that end, Oberg and fellow junior class officers Gabriella Kibblewhite and Tomé Rios proposed to the board that college tour days and days when students are determined by a school nurse to be ill and sent home “should not count against these exam exemptions.”
In other school district news:
• The board recognized Assistant Superintendent Megan Winston, who is nearing the completion of her doctor of education degree. Winston recently defended her dissertation before her dissertation committee and will next present it in a public defense ahead of her degree hooding ceremony.
“Pursuing a doctorate while serving in district leadership is no small accomplishment, and it speaks to her passion for learning,” Bailey said during the recognition, adding that the degree completion comes shortly before Winston is set to become the district’s next superintendent, when Holden retires at the end of the school year in May.
“We’re proud of the work you’ve done to reach this point, and I’m grateful that our district has a leader who models lifelong learning for our students,” Bailey said. “We couldn’t be more excited to soon be led by Dr. Winston and wish you the best.”
• During the board’s legislative report, board Vice President Kristi Myers highlighted two bills currently under consideration in the Ohio General Assembly that she said could affect public schools.
The first was House Bill 485, known as the “Baby Olivia Act,” which Myers said proposes new requirements for human growth and development instruction “with a pro-life slant in Ohio’s public schools,” with schools to be required to use state-mandated materials.
Myers noted concerns about the source and accuracy of the instructional videos required under the proposal.
“The videos come from an anti-abortion group, and the videos may not be appropriate for fifth graders,” she said.
Myers also discussed Senate Bill 19, which focuses on academic intervention services and mathematics improvement plans for students. While the bill is aimed at supporting struggling students, Myers said there is concern among school board members about the lack of funding attached to the proposal.
“It creates a major administrative burden on schools,” she said, and she urged community members to write to state legislators in opposition of both bills.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m.
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