The Patrick County School Board on Sept. 11 discussed next steps for Hardin Reynolds Memorial School (HRMS) following the Board of Supervisors’ vote earlier in the week to close a section of Dogwood Road in front of the campus.
The supervisors’ Sept. 8 decision—made despite vocal opposition from residents—was framed as a student safety measure. School officials have long identified the road as a hazard during routine safety audits, and the closure allows the division to move forward with new traffic and parking plans.
Superintendent Jason Wood said the division is grateful for the board’s action.
“That has been on the safety audits for multiple years, multiple principals, so it’s not something new that we’ve needed, and we know there’s been an issue in our school division,” he said. “So, we’re just thankful for that support and putting school and student safety first.”
Wood said the division has received questions about how car riders will enter the school once the road is closed and whether they will be forced onto Abram Penn Highway.
“We’ve had a plan to create a car rider line in front of the school. We needed additional parking in front of the school on the hardtop basketball courts,” he said.
He presented board members with a rough sketch showing how the lanes would work, noting that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will provide official plans now that the project is moving forward.
“We will have many additional parking spots, there’ll actually be three lanes through there. Those parking spots closest to the school will actually have its own lane, so if you’re there and you need to get out while car riders are there, you would still be able to get out,” Wood said.
To address concerns about the visibility coming up Abram Penn Highway towards HRMS, Wood said School Resource Officers (SROs) will help monitor traffic during peak hours.
“The SRO plans are to park there in the morning for car riders and buses, and the same thing in the afternoon,” he said. “Again, we always pride ourselves in putting the safety of our students and staff and families first.”
Wood said he wants the community to know that the division is looking into all of the concerns expressed to his office and at the supervisor meeting, because “we’ve had them before. We do have plans in place to ensure the safety of students, parents, buses, and also the community.
“We have reached out to VDOT, they have yet to send us the plans, but verbally communicated that the Crossover Road will be widened, the intersection coming into Abram Penn will have a different angle to allow for buses and community traffic to turn easier on Abram Penn,” he said.
Wood said several teachers also reached out to express their thanks for getting the project approved.
School officials are “just overwhelmed with joy that the concern daily walking across that road can be alleviated,” he said.
School Board Chairman Amy Walker, of the Mayo River District, also thanked supervisors for their partnership.
“I just wanted to publicly say thank you to the board of supervisors,” she said.
Noting the conversation was typically centered around traffic, Wood said the safety audit includes closed school campuses and open ones.
“In a lot of areas, open schools – they fence their schools completely in and things like that because traffic is so close. So, it’s not just traffic concerns. A closed school campus is a safer campus, and we are thankful for that partnership so that we can provide that at Hardin Reynolds,” Wood said.
In other business, the board:
*Approved the consent agenda.
*Approved the 2025-2030 gifted plan.
*Approved the 2025-2030 comprehensive plan.
*Approved the personnel report as amended.
*Approved religious exemptions 2025-26 05-10.
Board member Rob Martin, of the Dan River District, did not attend.
