Dismissal at Emily Brittain Elementary School has become a safety concern for some parents as well as a parking issue for the city.

The issue was discussed on Tuesday evening at a city council meeting, since the pattern for dismissing students at Emily Brittain has changed since last school year.

Previously, the school dismissed all students through the main exit, on North Washington Street, according to Superintendent Dale Lumley.

This year, the students have been dismissed through three of the building’s four exits, he said. Students who ride the bus to school leave through the main entrance, while students who walk are dismissed through two exits on West Penn Street, Lumley said.

Walkers make up the majority of the school’s kindergarten through fourth grade population, according to Lumley.

Suzie Bradrick, although a member of the Butler School Board, said she went to the city council meeting solely as a concerned parent, separate from her position on the board.

Bradrick said it is dangerous for students crossing Penn Street because of the heavy amount of traffic on the road. She requested the city close the road during dismissal times.

“You have people driving like they aren’t in a school zone,” Bradrick said.

However, the issue is not a city problem and needs to be handled by the school, according to Mayor Tom Donaldson.

“It’s just not feasible,” he said. “The school needs to come up with a better plan.”

While the city closes East North Street at Butler Middle School for dismissal, Penn Street sees more traffic and has residential parking, Donaldson said. The city police also do not have the necessary staffing to close Penn Street every day, he said.

The council did approve designating two parking spaces on Penn Street as parent pickup zones but will not further infringe on the residents’ parking options.

Donaldson and Bradrick believe the district should return to the old model, dismissal from the main entrance.

Lumley said having every student leave through one set of doors posed a safety problem and this will probably not return as the dismissal method.

The Emily Brittain school has four exits: the main exit on Washington Street, two on Penn Street, and an exit onto Walnut Street, which Lumley said is essentially an alleyway.

He stressed that the district is looking at other options right now but said parents must be watchful of their children during dismissal on Penn Street.

Eagle staff writer Will DeShong contributed to this report.