Talawanda BOE discusses Butler Tech busing issues, financial report
Butler Tech and the schools it works with have signed a memorandum of understanding that will be in effect for the 2026-27 school year. Under this agreement, Butler Tech will provide $75,000 for reimbursements to be divided among school districts that provide transportation to Butler Tech.
The Talawanda Board of Education approved a memorandum of understanding with Butler Tech for busing costs next year during a meeting on July 9.
The charter between Butler Tech and the school districts it partners with requires the districts to provide transportation for their students who attend Butler Tech programs. Previously, the surrounding school districts have worked together to make the routes as efficient as possible, often transporting students from different districts on the same bus.
As Butler Tech has grown, these bus routes have gotten longer, making transportation more expensive for school districts, Talawanda Superintendent Edward Theroux said. Additionally, the Butler Tech student base changes every semester, meaning routes for their students change more frequently than routes for other public schools.
In an email to the Oxford Free Press, Theroux said the financial and logistical challenges surrounding busing to Butler Tech make it “challenging if not impossible to ensure (Butler Tech) students are at their site/building on time.”
In an effort to find a solution to this problem, Butler Tech and the schools it works with have signed a memorandum of understanding that will be in effect for the 2026-27 school year. Under this agreement, Butler Tech will provide $75,000 for reimbursements to be divided among school districts that provide transportation to Butler Tech. The money will be allocated by calculating the difference in miles between a bus route including a Butler Tech stop and the same route excluding that stop, then reimbursing at a yet-to-be-determined rate per mile.
In an email to the Oxford Free Press, Theroux said, “Following next school year, districts are in discussion of a plan where each district would pay the prorated rate to the school district who shuttles their students. The amount is unknown right now, but it will cost districts some money. Districts making huge financial cuts may view this additional expense as problematic.”
During the board meeting, which can be viewed online, Theroux noted Butler Tech has seemed “not interested” in providing busing to students, and that Hamilton has started the process of renegotiating their charter with Butler Tech, though that process would likely take at least three years.
Theroux added in his email that Butler Tech “does an excellent job of providing students with career tech experiences, certifications, and knowledge. All of the Butler County superintendents believe in (Butler Tech) programs and services. We all are just trying to balance, keep the best programs/services in place and work with the budgets we have.”
Financial Report
Treasurer Shaunna Tafelski gave a report on Fiscal Year 2026, in which she said the district remained within $64,000 of its expenses from last year, as she had forecasted in February. Additionally, revenue for the district was better than expected due to a 111% higher than anticipated income from the school district property tax.
Tafelski said changes to the property tax rate, such as the recent update to the Homestead Exemption, may affect the school district in the future. The school district’s investments also did better than expected, with approximately a 3.8% growth.
The board will meet again on August 13.
