Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Board of Education met in regular session Tuesday, December 9.  After calling the meeting to order, the agenda and minutes of the last meeting were approved and  following the treasurer’s report, it was learned that the district is in slightly better financial shape than this time last year due to property tax revenue being up. 

BCHS students Barry Washer and Beth Harlan were on hand to receive certificates as winners of the county level of the KSBA scholarship of $250 and they are now in the running for the state level scholarship.

BCMS student Victoria Vitek was recognized for being chosen for Third District All District Band.
Following the recognitions, Superintendent Scott Howard gave his report .He told the board about his opportunity to meet James Comer, who is running for governor and expressing some of his education concerns.  He thanked the ladies of the DAR and the teachers who made sure the students had the chance to tour the Festival of Trees and mentioned how nice the dinner was.   He discussed the search for a principal for Morgantown Elementary School, stating that the first round of interviews by the search committee will be Friday and that a decision may be made at that time.
Howard reported that while the district as a whole is not meeting state standards, they are making progress and are meeting some of the federal standards.  He spoke about the implications of the new drop out law, reporting that under the law, anyone who has dropped out and is not yet 18 will need to re-enroll but that they had already checked and the district had no students who fit the criteria.  He gave a brief update on the school lunch bills that were discussed last month, stating that Kaitlin Harrison had checked and that there is a $41.00 court fee if they wish to take any of the parents to small claims court and that County Attorney Dick Deye is checking to see if that amount can be added to what the parents owe.  Superintendent Howard said that since the last meeting, many parents had come in and either paid their child’s bill or made arrangements to pay.  He also praised all the school cafeterias for getting 100% on the inspections conducted by the state health inspectors.
A new program that will be implanted soon will focus on children who are not currently enrolled in the OWL program or in Headstart.  Questionnaires will be at the public library for parents to fill out and based on their answers, children will receive a book appropriate to their level each month.
The board was reminded about Toystock on Saturday night at the high school, featuring Marty Brown,  John King and others with admission being a new toy, which will go to Toys for Tots and will be distributed on December 17.
Superintendent Howard reported that the district received a $10,000 grant from the state in the second round of voting for the new drop out law and that money will be used to start the Sunset Academy for students with 21 hours to come back and finish their degree.  It will be administered by Pam Pendley, will meet two nights a week, and students will have to follow the same rules that the other high school students follow.
BCHS Guidance Counselor Hanna Southerland gave a presentation on the new Career Pathways program to help students better decide what course they want to take for their career choice.  Adding pathways to careers in sports medicine was discussed, with Principal Patrick O’Driscoll reporting that Orthopedics Plus has offered to provide a certified trainer on a contract basis to teach the courses that are required to be taught by one.  It would be a better solution for the district since they would pay this person on an as needed basis.
Letters have been sent out looking for architects to bid on several repair projects around the district.
The board then discussed the progress made with forming a district archery team, with a lot of students already expressing interest and bows have been acquired with several more on the way.  Principal O’Driscoll commented that with declining interest in girls soccer, this could be a good way to meet our title IX requirements.
Several trips were approved, including the BCHS yearbook staff request to go to a Christmas social at Opry Mills on Dec. 11, the NJROTC’s request for a ski trip to Paoli, IN on Jan. 3 with an alternate date of Jan. 19, 2015.  Also approved was a gifted/talented trip to the Frist Museum in Nashville on Dec. 16 and for the formation of a coed Archery team to compete as a KHSAA sport.  They also approved a request for a teacher at North Butler elementary, an FMLA request for a Butler County Schools bus driver, FY16 out-of-district contracts with surrounding districts and creation of a part-time special education teaching position at North Butler Elementary School, procedure 05.3 AP.1 revisions and the FY 16 School year calendar.  Also approved were requests by three students to graduate early, the Sunset Academy,  the superintendent leadership evaluation plan, FY 16 certified evaluation plan and the FY 15 comprehensive school improvement plan.

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 - Story by Kathy Thomason, Beech Tree News