The May 20 letter to the editor, “Runaway waste” by Victor Adams, criticizing wasteful spending in the Butler School District caught my attention because a number of us have been working hard to clean up the district from the inside.

The public has recently seen the fruits of those efforts, as we have shined a light on the Summit water issue, demanded compliance with the transportation contract and have tackled the budget deficit, among other things.

I applaud the writer’s efforts to bring attention to any areas that may need to be looked at closer. To keep our government in check, we must remain constantly vigilant.

However, there are a few inaccuracies in his facts that need to be cleared up before the public can properly judge. I offer the following clarifications:

- Interim Butler Area School District Superintendent William Pettigrew is not making approximately $17,000 a month. He is making $12,500 a month. The former superintendent made $14,000 a month. This information can be found on the District’s website in Paragraph 3 of the Interim contract. It appears that Adams divided the annual salary by nine months instead of 12 months.

- Solicitor Tom King is not being paid approximately $24,000 a month for school board counsel. The entire bill for all school district legal fees and expenses for the time period in question was $24,000. This included grievance hearings with the union, student discipline issues, transportation contract issues, Summit water issues, personnel matters and other legal work done by a number of attorneys working for the district. King’s portion of that bill was approximately $8,000.

- The board is not paying the Templeton firm up to $26,000 to conduct the superintendent search. The board received several bids up to that amount, but selected one in the middle that was a maximum of $14,000 of fees with a maximum of $2,000 in expenses.

Again, it is fair game for any constituent to request that expenditures be scrutinized closely in tough financial times. It is important, however, to provide the public with accurate information. I have provided the Butler Eagle with documentation to substantiate all these corrections.

But if we were to focus too much on the writer’s three complaints, we would miss the bigger point that he is making: The proposed final budget of the district is very painful. It includes ugly spending cuts and a much-hated tax increase. And the takeaway is this: The board must strive to do better in any way it can.

I would remind all constituents of the district that the proposed final budget is currently on display for 30 days in order to receive feedback from the public. If you have any concerns or observations about any part of the budget, please contact your board members and let them know.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Clark’s letter included documentation substantiating his statements.