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The Board of Education conducted a budget meeting on Sept. 11 to review state funds for the fiscal year. Butler County Schools currently have 2.4 months-worth of funding reserves. The board was pleased with this estimate, as the state requires a school system to have at least one month of monthly reserves. 

Michael Nimmer, district one board member, said the board often has to get creative with funding to fulfill all of the schools’ needs. 

“When the board gets the money it’s allocated to certain things, then we have to use what is left over to fill our needs,” Nimmer said. “That’s where we have the biggest issue sometimes, we may have the need here but just don’t have the money for it. We have to get real creative sometimes with local funding.”

The board explained there will not be any major changes to any school or program this year or next due to lack of funding. 

The rebuilding of the McKenzie School gym was touched on, as the completion date has been pushed back from September to December. The brick masonry work was incorrect and is being re-done. 

Nimmer explained the gym was originally being updated as its court was six feet shorter than it needed to be for regulation size. Nimmer explained the issue with the masonry work. 

“The problem was the outer brick layer,” Nimmer said. “It’s a cinderblock building, but the outside is a brick facade. When you looked down one side of the gym it dropped terribly and was wavy. The outer layering was not structural, so it had to be taken down and will be fixed.”

Brandon Sellers, district 3 board member, said the issue will be left in the project’s contractors hands. 

“I’m not sure how many months we’ve been waiting on it now, but the problem with the mason not returning will be between the contractor and the mason, which will probably result in litigation,” Sellers said.

The last order of business for the meeting was addressing the issue of people going onto the new Greenville High School stadium field and seating area. Superintendent Joseph Eiland said it is a safety issue as the field is still a construction site. 

“The stadium is not public property and is still a construction site,” Eiland said. “There are reasons why no one is supposed to be walking on the new turf, as it needs time to set properly and can be ruined if not treated correctly. Red mud from the construction area tracked onto the metal stands could stain the seating permanently. We ask the community and students to please not enter the site until the official opening.”