Community gathers to say goodbye to the former Butler Middle School
The halls of the former Butler Junior High filled with people Thursday, Feb. 27, for the final time before the building is set to be sold next week.
Butler Middle School closed its doors to students after the 2021-22 school year and plans for the future of the building have fluctuated since. Finally, on March 6, the school will be sold to one of a few bidders at a public hearing.
The open house started at 6 p.m. and the building filled quickly with alumni and buyers alike. People trickled in and out until the school closed at 7:30 p.m.
Kerrie Hardt attended the school in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 school years. She came to the open house with a camera in hopes of capturing much of the school’s unique architecture.
“My favorite years of school were here. It’s the place where a lot of people made the friends they’d have through high school and beyond,” Hardt said. “I moved away in ninth grade, but I was able to use Facebook to get in touch with a lot of the friends I had here.”
For her, seeing the building brought forth a strong sense of nostalgia. While much of the building remained the same to her memories, much had changed in over 30 years of continued operation.
“The front stairway was exactly how I remembered it,” Hardt said with a smile.
Hardt was one of many attendees who expressed a love for the building’s architecture. Seth and Fallon Horwat, who graduated from Butler Area School District in 2013 and 2014 respectively, also noted the building’s unique feel.
“I remember playing basketball and getting to watch the crowds sit above us,” Seth Horwat said. “I always thought that was a bit neat.”
“It’s sad to know that future generations won’t get to experience the character of the building,” Fallon Horwat said.
Many attendees commented on the auditorium specifically, noting how unique a mezzanine is for a school to have. Silvio Andreassi and Ava Hindman, two seniors at Butler Senior High School, fondly remembered the annual student talent show they participated in.
“I did the talent show for both years in the auditorium. I got to go back up on stage and relive the memories,” Andreassi said.
“It’s really weird and kind of sad,” Hindman said. “It doesn’t feel real.”
The building was originally constructed in 1917 to serve as a high school, and sat next to a yellow brick junior high.
The school received a new name in 1937, John A. Gibson High School, after a former superintendent of the district.
Then, in 1960, the district constructed a new high school and the current one was converted into a junior high.
In 1985, the yellow brick school was closed and razed. In 1994-95, a new building was constructed on the lot and was connected to the 1917 building to form the most recent rendition of the building.
The building operated as the Butler Middle School until 2022, when the district’s board made the decision to shutter the building.
At the time of the school’s closing, the district was in talks to sell the building to Pittsburgh Gateways for $1, but the agreement fell through.
Afterward, the district considered renovation, reuse or a full demolition. White said the cost to demolish the building would be around $2 million.
The building, still under the district’s ownership, became a financial burden. Heather Bonzo, the district’s director of finance, said last year the district was paying around $197,000 annually to maintain the property.
In October 2024, a potential buyer made an offer on the school in the amount of $115,000. While sale proceedings began, several other offers materialized. By the beginning of 2025, there were four current offers on the building.
Thursday’s open house was the penultimate act of the sale.
A public hearing for the sale of the school is set for 11 a.m. March 6. A judge will listen and choose the most beneficial offer for the district and community.
