Former Butler Jr. High building sale date set
A date is officially set for a judge to decide the future of the former Butler Middle School building.
A public hearing will happen at 11 a.m. March 6. A judge at the hearing, set by the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, will choose the most beneficial offer for the district and community.
Brian White, Butler Area School District superintendent, said the hearing was open to the public during a Jan. 13 committee of the whole meeting.
As of this month, there are four prospective offers that have been made for the property.
Several of these offers have occurred in recent months. The second prospective buyer approached the school board just before its Nov. 4 meeting, when the board had originally planned to have a sales agreement on the agenda. By the new year, the district had four offers.
Heather Bonzo, the district’s director of finance, said in October the district pays around $197,000 annually to maintain the property. White said the cost to demolish the building would be around $2 million.
The building, which is about 180,000 square feet, closed at the end of the 2021-22 school year.
According to Butler Radio, the school district plans to hold an open house at some point to allow community members to see part of the building, and bid a farewell to the former school.
