Butler City Council on Thursday criticized parents fighting the Butler School District's consolidation plans — specifically those against the idea of relocating fifth and sixth grade students to the junior high school.

The school board last month voted for a plan that would close Broad Street, Center Avenue, Clearfield, Meridian and Oakland elementary schools.

If finally approved in May by the school board, the remaining elementary schools also would change from a kindergarten through sixth grade format to a kindergarten through fourth grade configuration, leaving fifth and sixth graders to attend the current junior high.

At the council meeting Thursday, Councilman Bill May said that some parents are painting an unfair and false picture of the city and its residents.

May said members of the parent group fighting the consolidation plans are claiming the junior high school on East Jefferson Street is an unsafe location for fifth and sixth graders due to what he said are false notions about crime in Butler.

“The balance in your checkbook does not make you a bad person,” May said. “Belonging to the country club does not make you a good person.”

The councilman said he spoke with a school board member Thursday afternoon about the consolidation plans and the junior high.

“He told me there is increasing pressure from these parent groups to close the junior high school,” May said, declining to name the board member. “I am very concerned (the board) would go through with it.”

May said complaints about crime in the city have no factual support.

“This is fear mongering,” he said. “They are painting the picture that there are people hiding behind trees waiting for their children.”

May said he walks the city's streets every day and he has no concerns about the safety of children around the junior high.

“I challenge any of those parents to meet with me and walk the route the children would walk,” May said. “I want them to point to me where there is any fear to be had.”

May accused groups of pointing to low-income residents in the city as making it unsafe.

“They are using class bigotry to force the school district to close the junior high,” he said. “I want the city to stand up to this character assassination.”

May said the city has a diverse demographic, which is one of the reasons he decided to raise his children in it.

The rest of council agreed with May.

“Our crime rate isn't bad,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson. “I wouldn't be afraid to walk on our streets at any time.”

Donaldson said the city has a paid police department on duty 24 hours a day as well.

“It's a farce,” he said of the group's complaints. “We have a top notch police department out patrolling our streets.”

May said there is a long standing stigma that the city is unsafe.

“They're trying to influence the school district based on somebody's imagination,” he said.

In other class reconfigurations under the consolidation plan, seventh through ninth graders would attend the intermediate high school and 10th through 12th graders would attend the high school.

The school board expects an estimated $3.5 million would be saved under the plan.