Butki to serve through the November election

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education members appointed Nate Butki to its vacant trustee seat during a special meeting on July 10.
The appointment was approved by a 5-0 vote. Vice President Heather Sinawi was absent from the interviews. Six other candidates – Scott Hill, Shawn Wayne, Mark Torres, Jeff Faber, Scott Horning and Joel Cole – interviewed for the position.
Butki will be sworn in prior to the July 17 special board meeting. He replaces late Trustee Steven Drakos, who died in June after an extended battle with cancer.
Butki will only serve until the results of the November election are certified because his term begins before the vacant seat’s filing date in the election. The candidate elected will serve the rest of the vacant seat’s term – through the end of 2026.
With everything the board is working on, several members said previous board experience was valuable. Butki previously served on the board from 2017 to 2020.
“Those first few months (as a new member) you really are trying to get your legs underneath you, and this really is a short-term position through the election,” board Secretary Susan Flaherty said. “So, I think there’s an extreme value in having someone who’s done it before and can hit the ground running.”
The board is currently conducting a superintendent search, working with assistant superintendents on bond projects, and is $3 million over budget due to impacts of COVID-19 as of May 22, board members stated.
Butki was a board trustee when Ben Kirby was selected as superintendent in 2020, and will participate in the superintendent first-round interviews on July 17-18.
When asked about the biggest challenges facing the district, Butki said the most immediate is selecting a superintendent.
“Together with that is helping that superintendent get off to a really fast and effective start because they’re going to be kicking off the school year and driving it,” Butki said. “So, a district without leadership is kind of a dynamic you want to minimize and keep in check.”
Financing was another challenge Butki mentioned, and said doing what is best for kids is the top priority.
The board also thanked the other candidates who interviewed for the seat.
“It’s wonderful that we had seven community members that were willing to come tonight, speak with us about their experiences,” Flaherty said. “They were all very articulate, represented themselves well, and I think we’re very fortunate to have such active community members.”