Superintendent Terri Holden, center, is set to retire May 31 after seven years with the district. She will be succeeded by Megan Winston. Holden is pictured with thee YS Board of Education. (Photo courtesy of YS Schools)
School board fetes outgoing Superintendent Holden
- Published: May 29, 2026
The YS Board of Education’s most recent meeting Wednesday, May 13, marked the near-end of the 2025–26 school year — and the near-end of Superintendent Terri Holden’s time at the helm of YS Schools, as she is set to retire May 31.
Board President Amy Bailey reflected on Holden’s seven years as superintendent, which she noted began just a few months before “one of the most difficult moments public education has ever faced” with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bailey went on to thank Holden for her emphasis on long-term planning during a period of transition for the district, including the ongoing facilities project, which is set to wrap up before the end of the calendar year.
“Your focus this past year has not been, ‘How can I get out of here as fast as possible?’” she added, addressing Holden. “Instead, your focus has really been, ‘How can I make sure this district is set up for success when I’m gone?’”
Incoming Superintendent Megan Winston — currently the district’s assistant superintendent — also lauded Holden, joking about the superintendent’s detailed knowledge of the facilities project and construction process.
“As a matter of fact, she can probably tell you the exact name and number of every paint color that is going in each building,” Winston said. “She’s an expert.”
Winston described Holden as a mentor, and said district administrators — including herself — are “better leaders” because of the opportunity to work with Holden. Winston’s remarks were followed by a video featuring Mills Lawn students offering Holden retirement advice: relax, sleep in, travel to Hawaii, pursue hobbies — and, of course, return to visit the schools.
Accepting gifts from both the district and the YS Alumni Association, Holden thanked board members, district staff, students and community members.
“It’s my honor to stand before you here at the close of seven incredible years in this school district,” she said.
Reflecting on relocating to the village with her wife, Holly Smith-Conway, in 2019, Holden noted that they moved “55 miles north” from their established community in Hamilton County, where Holden had previously been executive director of teaching and learning at Winton Woods City School District, to a place where neither had family or connections.
“I will not lie, it was very difficult … but I can look out here and point to those of you who made [us] feel welcomed, respected, part of this community,” she said. “Over time, through this generosity and kindness, we developed many friendships, and the village of Yellow Springs now truly feels like home.”
Holden added that she was leaving the district “with deep gratitude and confidence in the future of the district under the leadership of Dr. Winston,” who officially begins her tenure as superintendent June 1.
An “exit interview” feature on Holden’s retirement is planned for a future issue of the News.
Facilities project update
As one of her final official acts as superintendent, Holden presented a facilities project update during the meeting, introducing a list of costs that have accrued during construction and renovation as unexpected issues have arisen.
Holden reported that the district has encountered more than 100 “change events” — that is, deviations from the original scope of the project — for Mills Lawn. Unexpected costs have included drainage and storm piping investigations to address water pooling issues near Mills Lawn, revised restroom groups, electrical work and structural modifications.
At Yellow Springs Middle and High School, the district has recorded 101 change events thus far, including unexpected utility work, stormwater revisions, electrical conflicts, asphalt replacement and modifications related to the building’s new mechanical systems.
“We expected some surprises,” Holden said. “We have had far more than we expected.”
With these additional expenses in mind, Holden revisited discussion of the district’s capital campaign, which launched late last year to help offset project costs not covered through state funding or the bond issue approved by voters in 2023.
Holden told the board the district had initially anticipated needing to raise about $2 million through the campaign, but that the expected need has been winnowed in the past few months, because district Treasurer Jacob McGrath “is fiscally responsible and has worked very hard to make sure a lot of what you see here, we were able to right.”
“We got a lot of pushback from the community about our capital campaign,” she added. “But I can tell you that these two buildings will be showcases for the district … and our goal is to provide the best environment for our children, to provide the best payback for taxpayers. They are investing in something that is beautiful, that will last, that is safe.”
Full-building occupancy at YS Middle and High School is expected by Aug. 14, and at Mills Lawn, by Oct. 15.
For more information on the district’s capital campaign, go to ysschools.org/capital-campaign.
Property tax discussions
District leaders and board members also discussed recent state property tax legislation affecting public school funding, as well as a potential November ballot issue that would abolish property taxes altogether in the state.
House Bills 129, 186 and 335 were signed into law late last year and went into effect this March; as the News reported before the bills were passed, the measures limit the kinds of levies school districts can pass, cap growth in local property tax collections tied to rising property values and limit the calculation of the state’s 20-mill floor — the minimum effective tax rate school districts collect.
“You will see our property taxes are going down next year, and that is due to some of the state changes,” Treasurer McGrath said during his financial report. “We are losing on this deal.”
Later in the meeting, McGrath said public schools have increasingly shouldered the burden of funding education as the state’s share of financial support has declined over the past several decades.
“One thing [the state says] all the time is, ‘We’re giving more money to schools than ever before,’ but they ignore inflation entirely,” McGrath said. “If you give me $10 today, that’s more than $9 40 years ago, but it’s still not that much more because of inflation.”
The board also briefly discussed the ongoing movement to abolish property taxes in Ohio. The movement — led by a group called the Committee to Abolish Property Taxes, or AxOHTax — is currently seeking enough signatures to place a constitutional amendment before Ohio voters in November. In late April, multiple state media outlets reported that the group had collected about half of the signatures needed ahead of the July 1 filing deadline.
The proposal from AxOHTax has drawn concern from YS Schools — and from school districts and municipalities statewide — because of the host of municipal bodies and services that rely on property tax revenue to operate. At the same time, AxOHTax has not suggested a replacement for the revenue that would be lost if the measure passes.
“For small communities like Yellow Springs, this would impact not only the schools [but] the village,” Holden said. “It would impact senior services, it would impact police and fire.”
With these things in mind, the school board unanimously passed a resolution declaring, in short, that educating the public on the effects of the proposed constitutional amendment “constitute a proper public purpose.”
The resolution reads, in part: “The Board hereby determines School District actions and expenditures regarding education and raising awareness about the Constitutional Amendment, the lack of a revenue replacement mechanism and resulting School District impacts are reasonably related to funding the School District’s statutory duties, thus a proper public purpose.”
“The consequences of [the potential amendment] are pretty devastating,” Holden said. “That’s why we’re not just going to stick our heads in the sand on this issue and hope that it goes away. So we hope that folks will pay attention, and we’re happy to see this resolution.”
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