The Reed-Custer School District has a new leader at the helm. The School Board voted unanimously last week to appoint Dr. John K. Butts as interim superintendent for the upcoming school year, filling the vacancy left last month when former superintendent David Requa resigned for personal reasons.
Dr. Butts is a 37-year veteran in education. He holds a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction form the University of Minnesota, and started his career in elementary education. Butts taught first, second and third grade in Iowa before going to grad school in Minneapolis, where he worked organizing staff development programs both part-time and full-time as a transition from teaching to administration.
Butts later worked in Tempe and Scottsdale, Arizona, as an elementary principal and assistant superintendent.
Most recently Butts served as superintendent of Lake Park High School District No. 108 in Roselle.
Butts said he looks forward to diving right in to the position.
"I'm glad to be back in a unit district," Butts said. "Where I came from, Lake Park, was just high school, and I like that but I miss being an elementary teacher, I miss the K-12 program. It will be fun."
Butts, who plans to commute from his home in Bloomingdale to the job, has already spent some time around town, visiting during Summerfest and checking out the schools in both Braidwood and Custer Park.
"I'm very excited, great facilities, people have been so nice," Butts said. "I think the financial challenges are faced everywhere, so it's not like that's a unique thing. With the deficit, you can't do that forever, you can't always spend from your saving account, and [the school board members] know that, so it's just a matter of getting the right people together to decide what to do."
Butts will be picking up on the budget decisions where Requa left off. The 2010-2011 budget, approved by the board earlier this year, included some minor staff cuts and other cuts unrelated to staff, but overall kept many programs intact.
The school district currently has approximately $7 million in reserves, but is set to exceed the amount of money it brings in yet again this year. Still, the budget passed by the school board represents an overall reduction in spending of about $1.2 million, including all of the supply cuts and maintenance cuts and other reductions not involving personnel.
The district hopes to drop into the black by the 2011-2012 school year, aided in part by the end of the city of Braidwood TIF district.
It's all part of a challenge that Butts said he readily accepts.
"Knowing I will be thrust into it... that's one of the things that appeals to me," Butts said.
Butts lives in Bloomingdale with his wife, Jane Hove, where she serves as executive director of the Bloomingdale Chamber of Commerce. Butts said he plans to become an active member of the local community, as active as he is where he makes his home.
"We're involved in community things, and I look forward to that here," Butts said. "Helping schools make that connection both for myself and the schools is really important. I'll be advocating community service and community involvement both for the staff and students."
Schools are required by law to have a superintendent in place. School Board members said they're happy to have found someone as qualified as Dr. Butts to take the position while they search for a permanent superintendent.
"Dr. Butts brings us a wide range of experiences in curriculum, instruction and financial management," Board President Larry Blackburn said. "We look forward to helping Dr. Butts lead Reed-Custer School District."
The district was assisted with the search for the interim by School ExecConnect, the firm the district used to find the previous superintendent. The firm will continue to assist the district in the search for a permanent replacement for Requa. The board hopes to have that position filled by July 1, 2011.
The appointment went into effect July 22, and will last through June 30, 2011.
