Butler Area School District will sell the former middle school and has taken steps to move the process ahead.

It’s a great move for the district and the community. The building hasn’t been used since the 2021-22 school year, but it’s still costing the district nearly $200,000 a year to maintain, according to Heather Bonzo, the school district’s director of finance.

Selling it probably seems like a no-brainer, but selling former school buildings isn’t the easiest thing for districts to do — many sit abandoned for years while the district and community try to figure out what to do with the property. Former school buildings are often very large and many need extensive renovations before they can be repurposed.

Butler Area is lucky to have had such interest to the property. There are four confirmed interested parties, with two others in the mix as well.

To move forward, Butler Area filed a petition in the Court of Common Pleas to have a public hearing scheduled on the matter. This is a great position for the district to be in, to have so many prospective buyers that a public hearing is required. It’s also a great position for the community to be in, as it ensures there will be a thorough process to determine the future of the property.

Prospective buyers have offered ideas for the site from a light industrial operation to a storage facility. While it would be great if everyone could agree on the perfect use for the future of the building, we’re sure everyone will be happy the building has a future at all and won’t become a blighted, abandoned structure.

The district solicitor scheduled two independent appraisals of the building, which have since been completed. Whatever the district gets for the property will be a boon to the district, but the real financial boost will come from saving the $200,000 it costs to let the building sit vacant every year.

— KL