Butler Board approves $2.18M in bills, hires staff, OKs $127,200 private placement

The Butler Board of Education met Oct. 16, 2025, at Butler High School and approved a slate of financial, personnel and operational items affecting the 2025–2026 school year.

The board approved the Bills and Claims and Payroll Report totaling $2,176,401.69 and ratified $346,978.37 drawn on the current account. It also authorized open purchase orders totaling $172,107.73 and approved the Secretary and Treasurer reports certifying available funds for the fiscal year (motions recorded as FIN 31-26 through FIN 34-26). Finance Chair C. Ziegler moved the finance package; the roll call recorded present members voting YES on the listed items.

The board approved several vendor and service agreements intended to support special education and curriculum services for the year: a paraprofessional services agreement with The Therapy Spot, LLC at $31.00 per hour; a paraprofessional services agreement with Edu Therapy Inc.360 at $29.00 per hour; and a curriculum access agreement with The Autism Helper, Inc. that lists two licenses and a workshop for a total cost of $1,448.00. The board also approved an itinerant services agreement with Mountain Lakes Board of Education for student #95485 at a fee of $3,610.

In curriculum and student services actions, the board approved an out‑of‑district private placement for student ID #95531 to The Capstone Center for 10/30/25–04/30/26 at a tuition cost of $127,200 charged to account 11-000-100-565-00-000 (CIS 33-26). CIS Chair J. Tadros moved the CIS package; the roll call recorded approval.

Personnel actions included the acceptance of a resignation for the purpose of retirement from Sue Maurer (effective 06/30/2025, listed salary MA+30/15 $102,311) and multiple appointments: substitute teachers (e.g., Alexandra Breyere, Chloe Meyers), activity positions and coaches across sports and theater. The board approved a BEA side‑bar agreement that explicitly grants a stipend for Boys Volleyball Head Coach of $6,609 and Boys Volleyball Assistant Coach of $4,264 for the 2025–2026 year. The board also approved the appointment of Colene Talasco as a special education teacher (BA/12, salary $79,280, effective 10/20/2025).

Other approved items included the establishment of the Derek Vannelli State Farm Good Neighbor Scholarship Grant, which will award $500 to two Butler High School seniors; and purchase of point‑of‑sale equipment and software from Toast Inc. for Bulldog Bites with a total listed cost of $1,538.50.

During public participation, Mrs. Lack Kaplan asked questions regarding FIN 36-26, FIN 37-26 and FIN 38-26 related to curriculum agreements; the minutes record the question but do not record a response in the public portion of the minutes.

Student representatives Trinity Pang and Dimitri Bozarov used the recognition portion of the meeting to announce Coach Luciani as Coach of the Year.

Votes at a glance

• HIB self‑assessment acceptance (covers Sept. 24–Oct. 14, 2025) — Motion adopted (roll call YES by present members; motion carried 8-0-0).

• Personnel & Policy motions PP 12-26 through PP 15-26 (appointments, policy second reading/adoption, BEA side‑bar) — Adopted by roll call (motions carried; recorded votes largely 8-0-0 or 7-0-0 where noted).

• CIS motions CIS 30-26 through CIS 36-26 (professional development, field trips, fundraisers, out‑of‑district placement) — Adopted by roll call; out‑of‑district placement for student #95531 to The Capstone Center (tuition $127,200) approved.

• Finance motions FIN 31-26 through FIN 40-26 (bills/claims, purchase orders, therapy/vendor agreements, scholarship, Toast equipment) — Adopted by roll call; bills and payroll total $2,176,401.69; Therapy Spot LLC $31/hr; Edu Therapy Inc.360 $29/hr; The Autism Helper total $1,448.

• FIN 41-26 (agreement with Mountain Lakes Board of Education for itinerant services for student #95485, $3,610) — Adopted by roll call.

• Operations motions OPS 10-26 through OPS 15-26 (facility use, Comprehensive Maintenance Plan and M‑1 form, QSAC District Performance Review, bus evacuation drill reports) — Adopted by roll call.

What happens next

The minutes record approvals and delegate routine contract execution to district administrators; several items (agreements, purchase orders, professional development) will be implemented by staff as described in the motions. No further votes or follow‑up deadlines are recorded in the public portion of the minutes.

Sources: Butler Board of Education meeting minutes, Oct. 16, 2025 (Butler High School Media Center).