Miami Valley School addresses neighbors traffic concerns

The Miami Valley School will stop allowing events to be held at their facilities that are not directly connected to its students, according to the headmaster.

The decision after neighbors raised concerns about traffic after school officials said last month it would take the next step in a $1.5 million expansion project, first announced in 2012, to invest in its early childhood education program

Neighbors are concerned that the expansion will lead to increased traffic on Denise Drive, Selma Road and Wheaton Street.

“They can’t increase the number (of students) without increasing the traffic,” said Dennis Willis, one of about 50 Washington Township residents who attended a meeting May 12 with the headmaster. Willis said he has lived on Denise Drive for 13 years and that, during the last three, traffic on the residential street has worsened.

In response to neighbors’ concerns over afternoon and weekend traffic caused, in part, by the school renting its space for public use, Headmaster Jay Schuerle made a decision that will cost the school “thousands of dollars a year.” Starting in August, he said, the school will not host any more events that are not directly connected to Miami Valley students.

Schuerle also put a plan in place in April to stagger student drop-off and pick-up times to thin out traffic in the neighborhood.

Mary and Thomas Papp, who live on Selma Road, said they were “not let down by the meeting” but feel there is still much more to be done. Mary Papp suggested added signage or increased police presence on Denise Drive to slow drivers down.

“We’re hearing some good, positive things. I think the school is trying to work as best as they can with the neighbors — it’s just going to be a situation that will play out over time,” said Thomas Papp.

Others are not as optimistic.

Jerry Collins, who has been vocal in his opposition to the school, is concerned that “there is nothing in writing at the township level” to prevent the school from continuing to grow and expand in the future.

The planned expansion calls for relocating 32 pre-kindergarten students from the school’s Julia D. Hobart Early Childhood Center at 4631 Far Hills Ave. in Kettering to its main campus in Washington Township. The Miami Valley School’s Lower School, Middle School, Upper School and athletics complex are on the that 22-acre campus at 5151 Denise Drive.

There are 466 students enrolled at The Miami Valley School, including the 32 pre-K students — half of which, Schuerle said, have an older sibling on the main campus.

The school recently purchased land off-campus, on Denise Drive, but the headmaster insisted that there are currently ” no plans to use the new property” and that it was simply “a good deal.” Plans for the new early childhood center will not expand the campus’ current footprint.

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