New members of the Butler School Board who will take office Dec. 1 are excited to get started.

The board will welcome four new members: Suzie Hammonds Bradrick, Leland Clark, Jennifer Cummings and Nina Teff. Incumbent Bill Halle will begin his second term. They all were elected Tuesday night.

They want to make clear to the community they aren’t coming onto the board with an agenda to reverse the district’s consolidation plan.

Hammonds Bradrick said, “I really want to move forward in the best way possible. I can’t go in with an agenda. I have to go in for what’s best for the students, the community, the taxpayers.

“This entire process moving forward, we always have to keep an open mind about what’s best for everyone.”

However, the new members do want to review the effectiveness of the consolidation process, which closed five of the district’s 11 elementary schools and reconfigured grades at the primary and secondary levels.

The district has four of its closed elementary school buildings for sale: Broad Street, Clearfield, Meridian and Oakland.

The board on Monday may consider a bid to sell the Broad Street school.

Cummings said, “I hope that we can build a more team-oriented board. I don’t want there to be any tension or conflict.”

She hopes to initiate a data-based analysis on the consolidation, comparing things before and now, and seeing if it is of benefit to the district.

“What statistics do we have to show that the district has changed based on what we did?” she asked.

Teff agreed with doing a review, and said she wants to hear anecdotes from district staff firsthand.

“Are there any tweaks that need to be made for the schools?” Teff asked. “Do we need a transportation audit?”

Clark said he’s interested in doing a districtwide survey in January to look at the halfway point of the year, and also to continue to review through the end of the school year.

He’s also interested in resolving the lawsuit against the school district by Halle. The lawsuit is about concerns that the district would sell its closed buildings before new school board members are seated.

But the consolidation isn’t the only concern of new members. The district’s budget and finances also are important.

“My hope is that we will put education first, but we’ll do that by completing a long-term strategic financial plan, and a long-term strategic educational plan,” Halle said.

He said he’s excited to work with new members.

“This new group of candidates coming in are going to cherish community input and listen to a greater degree with our decision- making than in the past,” he said.

“I believe they’re going to be much more inclined to look at our financial struggles in depth, and I believe they’re going to raise transparency of the public process.”

There are nine members on the school board.