Benton Harbor Area Schools start new year with interim superintendent

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Benton Harbor Area Schools started school Monday morning, a week earlier than the traditional start. It's part of a plan to put all the districts in the county on the same calendar.

BHAS started the school year with an Interim Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Butts.

“It’s been quite a journey," Dr. Butts said.

Dr. Butts was a principal at Fairplain Middle School last year, but was promoted to interim superintendent in July when former superintendent Dr. Andrae Townsel left for a school district in Maryland.

“We were sorry to have him gone, but there was not a disruption in leadership, and that makes me feel good," Dr. Butts said.

We spoke with Dr. Butts a few days before classes started. He said that even though it helped he was already familiar with the district, he had to hit the ground running to get everything ready for the students.

“We’ve got a lot of new and exciting things coming up for this school year," Dr. Butts said.

For the first time, all buildings in the district will be air-conditioned to help keep students comfortable throughout the year.

Dr. Butts said he wants to use this opportunity as interim superintendent to break down barriers between the district and community.

“So that we can get more parental involvement to make sure that our students are successful. We want to make sure everyone feels valued, heard and that we have two-way communication going forward. When parents are involved, we all know that students do better," Dr. Butts said.

Even as things change for the superintendents of both Benton Harbor and Niles, their priorities have not.

“Our goal is really our three main one, safety and security is always a priority for us, next is regular attendance. We want to make sure that students are in the habit of regularly attending school, and the third one would be curriculum-related," said Superintendent Dr. Dan Applegate of Niles Public Schools.