Nearly two months into the school year, the Butler School District is adjusting to its new consolidated schools.

Bus routes and technology changes were the biggest challenges the district officials faced when the school year started Sept. 8. But Superintendent Dale Lumley said the consolidation transition was successful overall.

“I think it went as well as it could have gone, better in many ways than expected,” he said.

“And the teachers are focusing on instruction, getting to know their students, getting to know their new building leaders. So I’m pretty pleased with all of those changes that are happening. But we still have work to do.”

He continued, “The transportation routes that we had established (before this school year) had probably been established over the last 20 years. And so it was a huge undertaking. Most of the issues have been addressed. We still have a number of people who would like additional stops.”

However, most transportation issues have been addressed, Lumley said.

The district closed five of its 11 elementary schools in June: Broad Street, Center Avenue, Clearfield, Meridian and Oakland. Center Avenue reopened as an alternative and special needs school.

The district’s four closed elementary buildings are for sale.

The remaining six elementary schools have a kindergarten through fourth grade configuration.

The junior high is now a middle school that houses fifth and sixth graders, and grades at the secondary schools were also adjusted, with seventh through ninth grades and 10th through 12th grades at the intermediate and senior high schools, respectively.

Many of the principals, 500 plus teachers and 7,000 students were moved to different buildings under the plan. Thousands of boxes were moved and hundreds of phone extensions were changed over the summer.

Tech upgrades made

At the same time, the district spent $1.5 million on technological upgrades, providing smartboards for every classroom in fourth through 12th grades, new tablets and laptops for students and new, leased laptop computers for every teacher.

“Putting $1.5 million in new hardware and things in itself was a major accomplishment,” Lumley said.

There was a learning curve with some of the new technology, he said, but it’s something the district has been dealing with through its IT provider, Questeq. Kinks with telephone lines and new technology were smoothed out in the first weeks.

“When you’re increasing the amount of technology, you’re going to have more needs because they’re now using the technology more,” he said.

Most of the principals have adjusted to their new assignments.

Jeff Mathieson, Center Township principal, had been principal at Emily Brittain Elementary. Center this year accepted students from Broad Street, Oakland and Northwest elementary schools.

“We don’t need to leave behind who we were, but we can certainly come together and be something new all at the same time,” he said.

Students and their families at Center had a schoolwide carnival on Oct. 9 as a way of bringing everyone together. Other aspects of the changes have taken time to adjust but have gone well, he said.

“When I look at the big picture of everything that’s happened since this past May, I’m impressed. I’m proud,” Mathieson said. “We’re moving for the better in so many ways. I want to make it known that it is the result of so many people working together.”

For instance, district leaders have met weekly since February to prepare for the consolidation changes. They still are meeting weekly to address issues that spring up.

Classes expand

Josh Hundertmark and Jason Huffman, the fifth and sixth grade principals at the middle school, also said the efforts to make the 98-year-old downtown school more elementary-friendly have gone well.

“Students have loved the opportunities that they have been presented with, from the different approach to library, to the new STEAM special, the fitness center,” Hundertmark said. “Kids are just really excited to come to school, to be a part of the new middle school. Teachers have vocalized their enthusiasm, their excitement educationally.”

The STEAM lab, short for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, is a new aspect of the middle school curriculum. The library has a new look and new technology, and the fitness center provides students a technology-enhanced way to exercise, which is a supplement to their weekly gym class.

With the middle school as the “focal point” of the consolidation, teachers have been able to work together more. There are seven teachers for each subject area for each grade. In the past, some of the smaller elementary schools had only one or two sections, and didn’t have those kinds of joint opportunities before.

“All the math teachers at the same grade level meet on a regular basis, the reading teachers meet,” Hundertmark said. “And that’s something we’ve never had the opportunity to do as often. So teachers are really enjoying that aspect about teaching.”

While many changes have taken effect, other facets of the overhaul will come up in the coming months and next school year.

Excess items to be sold

All of the district’s excess items are stored at Oakland Elementary School, said Glenn Terwilliger, director of maintenance. Teachers and staff have requested items from that building since the school year began, such as cabinets and shelves, but soon the district will begin selling off those supplies.

Items include thousands of library books, hundreds of tube television sets, teachers’ desks and other classroom furniture.

“School district policy is we have to offer them for sale,” Terwilliger said.

Technology upgrades still are in progress. Lumley hopes to have smartboards in all classrooms by next school year. Not all kindergarten through third grade buildings have them yet.

“We have a lot more work to do now that we’ve reconfigured and we have these new grade breakdowns,” Lumley said. “ ... We’re really going to be spending the rest of this year on fine-tuning curriculum, interventions that we need to put in place for reading and math. We have the people now in place, and so we just want to give them the support that they need to make it work more smoothly.”

Questions still linger

But there are school board candidates, who likely will take office in early December because they are running unopposed in Tuesday’s election, who still have concerns about the success of the process.

Candidate Nina Teff said, “In order to appropriately assess how the transition is going and the many aspects, a proper look-back needs to be performed. For example, we need to look at financial, transportation, behavior and educational data. We also need to reach out to the community and parents in an effort to hear firsthand experiences.”

Teff particularly has concerns about the financial ramifications of changes, and whether the plan has saved the district money.

“There are issues regarding the four buildings up for sale,” she said. “There is a possibility that the district will have to repay the state for reimbursements received on those buildings in the past.

“No buildings should be sold until we understand the potential financial impact that such a sale has on the district.”

School board candidate Leland Clark, who along with school board member Bill Halle, filed a lawsuit against the school district in August to prevent the selling any of the buildings before the new board is seating, said he’d like to survey the district next year.

“I am going to advocate for a districtwide survey in January,” Clark said.

“The hope is to get feedback from teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other stakeholders on the first half of the year under the new consolidated system. This will help us decide whether to stay the course or make changes.”