The Butler Area School District is moving ahead with plans to reopen the elementary school that has been closed for nearly a year due to concerns over contaminated water.
On Monday night, the Butler Area School Board gave district administrators informal approval to move forward with a plan to return students to Summit Township Elementary from Broad Street Elementary. An official vote on the move will be taken at next Monday’s meeting.
Butler Superintendent Dr. Brian White sent Summit parents a letter last Friday explaining the plans for the proposed reopening following the semester break in 2018. Since the district will need an extra day before and another after the break to accomplish the move, Summit students will be off on both Dec. 22 and Jan. 2, which are scheduled school days for the rest of the district. However, Summit students will make up those days by attending class while other students have in-service days later in January and February.
The school was closed in February of 2017 due to high levels of lead and copper in the drinking water. The school is now hooked up to public water, all water fixtures have been replaced, and tests done in November showed the water is safe to drink.
