The Butler Area School District board of directors on Monday approved the long-awaited and anticipated move to reopen Broad Street Elementary School.

Board members unanimously voted to authorize the superintendent to begin the paperwork and other action required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to reopen the school in the fall for the 2021-22 school year.

“It’s going to completely change the community,” said board member Bill Halle.

Board member John Conrad commended the district leadership for having the insight to correct the mistaken decision to close the school.

Superintendent Broad White said he is excited to reopen the school. He said he will begin preparing a timeline for parents to register their students to attend the school next year.

The school was closed in 2015 in a school reorganization plan in which students who attended Broad Street were transferred to Center Township and to Northwest elementary schools.

The board and administration have discussed reopening the school for the last couple years, and the board hired a principal in February.

The school is currently being used as a cyber center, where elementary teachers conduct online classes. The building is also an off-site care facility for the Butler Health System if extra space is needed to treat COVID-19 patients.

Delinquent tax collection

In unrelated business, the board approved a change in the district’s delinquent per capita tax collection agencies.

Statewide Tax Recovery Inc., the current contractor, has a 53% recovery rate, which equates to the district losing $20,000 to $30,000 a year in collections, White said.

From 2010-2019, Statewide collected $299,000 from the $609,000 in uncollected taxes submitted by the district, he said.

He recommended switching to Berkheimer Associates, which claims to have a collection rate of 75-80%. The board unanimously approved the change.

In addition, White said teachers and all other district employees have registered to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccination plan

Last week, the state updated is phased vaccination plan to include school employees in the current phase. Teachers will receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

White said the state will contact the employees individually to schedule their vaccinations in a window from March 13-19. He said the location where the vaccine will be administered is not being publicized because of concerns that other people might show up to get vaccinated.

The Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, which serves school districts in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties, coordinated the vaccinations for districts in those counties, he said.

White added that he is concerned about possible employee absences because of reactions from the vaccine. He said spreading the vaccinations over seven days will hopefully reduce the chance of having multiple absences at the same time.

Broadband benefit

In other business, White said the district is expected to receive more information in April about the Federal Communications Commission’s emergency broadband benefit program.

The program provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households, according to the FCC.

Shelters

The board also approved agreements with the American Red Cross to use the district’s schools as shelters during emergencies.

Agreements were approved for each school except the Center Avenue Community School.