Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Board of Education had a meeting on Tuesday, March 10, to discuss several upcoming projects and events for the 2015 school year, and recognize a few standout achievements. Superintendent Scott Howard was in attendance, along with board members Karen Evans, Delbert Johnson, Debbie Hammers, and Charles Price. Amy Hood was absent.
BCMS Student Bodie Hammer was recognized for being a top 15 finalist in the Civic Voting Slogan Contest with a certificate.
Student Alex Rich was recognized as a state Geo-Bee participant for the second year.
MES Student Ethan Clark received an outstanding achievement certificate as Butler County Spelling Bee champion. The certificate was accepted for him by Ms. McKinney.
Items were added to the agenda, and the February treasury report was approved.
Beginning balance: $2,054,226.43
Total receipts: $1,736,747.59
Total Expenditures: $1,423,386.28
Ending Balance 2,367,587.76
Scott Howard “[we are] just under $400,000 better than this time last year…. What we try to do is not spend money unless it has [an] impact on student achievement.” He cites the diligence of principals and officials for the savings. The board also discussed efforts to further reduce spending. Jimmy Arnold mentioned a particular concern: “We’re eating printers. We’re buying thousands of dollar printers every 6 months… we can’t keep up with the print load.” This concern is actively being addressed by officials
The next item for discussion was the FY15 School Year Calendar.
Students have missed 12 days total, and made up one the Wednesday before thanksgiving.  As a result, March 20 will be a makeup day. In the current calendar, the last day of school is set for May 21. There was a discussion to change the calendar make May 22 and 26-28 instructional days, with May 28 being the last day for students. Howard stated: “…that would put us making up 6 days, and taking 6 bank days… I want to protect spring break if I can… I think that’s a pretty good recommendation to think about. “
Howard also suggested making the May 29 an instructional day, and hold graduations that afternoon.
“State Law says 6 hour instructional day, our shortest is 6:20, so every day we’re in school is an extra 20 minutes…. Last year we added a few minutes to our days and made up time, but we still have to get to 170 days….  there are people out there that want us to discuss taking two or three days of spring break… I think that would be easy to do.  Athletes headed to out of state events would have to be counted absent.”
They hope to finalize the last day of school this week.
 The board then discussed upcoming school renovations, and elaborations on the BG1 proposal approved in January:
BG2 -Outline for Materials
The remodeling of Butler County High School is set to include new plumbing features with low water usage systems, a fire alarm system, new auditorium seating, folding bleachers, an exhaust cabinet for the chemistry lab, and several other renovations.
BG3- Estimate of Construction Costs for site development
The estimate as of March 10, 2015, is $2,747,600.
Morgantown Elementary will receive an updated lobby to increase security in the building, and new exterior lights. The [new] blacktopping [at BCHS] will start from 231 [and include] everything except the driveway up to the football field.
Although the process in regards to Frankfort is slow, there are hopes that most of the project can be completed by the time students return to school later in the year. They prioritize having the gym finished by the first week of November. They also discussed striping the parking lot to mimic a football field for band to practice on. “I think it would be better than marching in mud,” stated Sup. Howard.
The Community Eligibility Provision was discussed, a program that would provide free meals to students. Currently, an estimated 25% or more of students don’t go through the lunch line. “We’ve talked about… making lunch 25 minutes… give them an extra five minutes for lunch.“Howard commented.
Agendas were also approved include BCHS Softball to attend the Where’s the Beach Classic tournament in Rockcastle County April 9-11; BCHS Rocket team trip request for qualification flights march 14th 15th, 21st, 22nd, 28th, 29th Holland, Indiana; Approve BCATC Skills USA trip request to attend state competition in Louisville in April; Approve the entering in of a Rent Agreement [for printers] for the Butler County Middle School Library.
They also discussed the Student Voice Survey, part of the professional growth and effectiveness system, which includes short surveys for students about their student/teacher interactions.
At 7:45pm, the meeting was adjourned.