BRUIN — The Karns City School Board has approved an agreement to sell the closed Bruin Elementary to the Nonprofit Development Corporation of Butler County.

A copy of the sales proposal was not immediately available, but Superintendent Eric Ritzert said the deal is for $1.

The board unanimously approved the measure during a meeting Thursday night. Mike Robb, executive director of the corporation, said his board also has approved the agreement.

The Bruin school, at 139 School St., has been closed since 2012 due to declining enrollment, according to Ritzert. While the school was listed with a real estate agent for a little more than a year, there was “minimal interest,” Ritzert said. The offers that were received were less than $6,000, and the school was appraised at $236,500 in 2012, Ritzert said.

“Based on our inability to find a buyer of the building over its four-year time that had a sustainable long-term purpose, we felt that partnering with a nonprofit entity was in the best interest of the school district residents,” he said.

“Ideally, the school district and probably board members would’ve preferred to sell it, but we were not able to secure that in this area. From the school district’s standpoint, every year we continue to own it, it’s costing us money.”

Ritzert said annual building maintenance costs $20,000 to $30,000.

Robb said the Nonprofit Development Corporation, which has been around since 2010, hopes to create a human services hub in the building.

Because the corporation works on property management and construction for nonprofits, the hub would require partnering with nonprofits and service providers, Robb said.

Bruin school’s location, about 30 minutes from the city of Butler, could draw people for community service projects from Butler, Armstrong and Clarion counties, Robb said.

Robb said the nonprofit is flexible about when it can formally close on the building, which only can happen after the sale is approved by a Butler County judge. No hearing date has been set.

For now, there are no renovations planned, and Robb said the corporation will start planning possible uses for the building in the new year. The corporation hopes to receive feedback from the community about what types of services are most needed, Robb said.