Dr. Butts became the fifth superintendent of the MSD of Wayne Township on the west side of Indianapolis January 1, 2011.  Prior to becoming superintendent, he served as assistant superintendent in MSD Wayne. Before he came to MSD Wayne, Dr. Butts served as a middle school principal in the Tippecanoe School Corporation in Lafayette, Indiana. He has also held administrative or teaching positions in the Delphi Community School Corporation, along with school districts in Illinois.

Dr. Butts is past president of the IAPSS and has held numerous other leadership positions as well. He chaired the Superintendent Advisory Group for the Indiana State Board of Education and has served as president of the Indiana Urban Schools Association. He has chaired the YMCA’s Annual Campaign Committee and is chair of Indiana University Partnershare. Dr. Butts is a board member and recruitment chair for the West Side Chamber of Commerce and has served as vice president of the Indy Gateway Economic Development Corporation.

His community and civic involvement complements his numerous achievements within the MSD of Wayne Township. During his time in MSD Wayne, Dr. Butts has facilitated strategies that resulted in a 34-percent increase in the district’s graduation rate. He has also overseen the development and opening of Indiana’s first public virtual high school, Achieve Virtual Education Academy. He has collaborated with area colleges to provide more than 27,000 dual college credits each year for the district’s students. In addition, Dr. Butts led the district to the successful passage of a $66.5 million operating referendum designed to continue student supports and services.

The IAPSS presented Dr. Butts with his award at the 69th annual ISBA/IAPSS Fall Conference, held September 10 and 11 at the Indiana Convention Center.

“I have never been so humbled and so honored at the same time,” Dr. Butts told those gathered at the conference upon receiving the award.

Dr. Butts has been the recipient of numerous other awards, including being named the District IV Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals in 2005. The Indiana High School Press Association named him Indiana’s 2012 Administrator of the Year, and the Indiana Council for Exceptional Children named him its Advocate of the Year in 2017. Dr. Butts also received the YMCA Cause Driven Leadership Award in 2014.

Dr. Butts’ name has been forwarded to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) to represent Indiana in the National Superintendent of the Year competition. “With his qualifications and background, I am confident he will rise as a finalist and put Indiana at the forefront of educational leadership in the nation,” said Dr. J.T. Coopman, executive director of the IAPSS.