Butler School District has a credibility problem.

That shouldn’t be a revelation to anyone. It’s been the reality school officials have been living with since January, when it became clear that the district had failed to live up to its duties to notify the public about high levels of lead and copper in Summit Township Elementary’s water supply.

We wrote last month that someone needed to answer for students’ exposure at Summit Township Elementary. So far three school officials — including the district’s top administrator, Dale Lumley, and its top elementary education official, Mary Wolf — have resigned amid allegations of misconduct.

So far school board members have sought the middle ground when it comes to releasing information on both the officials’ conduct and the investigation into the Summit water scandal overall. And so far it’s made for an unsatisfying and contentious state of affairs. On Monday three school board members, Leland Clark, John Conrad and Bill Halle, voted against accepting Wolf’s resignation. Halle said he wanted the board to start termination proceedings.

“I’m looking for more accountability for the actions,” Halle said on Monday.

So are we — and it’s got to come from school board members committing to transparency.

The continuing issue overall remains the district’s credibility with parents and taxpayers. And that wound won’t heal until the district satisfies the public by releasing the findings of its independent, internal investigation. School officials have said repeatedly that they won’t release the report because an investigation by Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger is ongoing.

Withholding the full findings of attorney Michael Witherel’s investigation may be prudent so long as there is an active criminal investigation into the Summit water scandal. But ultimately there needs to be a full and complete accounting of school officials’ conduct during this incident from an independent voice untainted by the scandal — which at its core is a crisis of confidence in the district’s ability to manage itself.

And frankly there is no reason the Witherel report shouldn’t ultimately be made public in its full, complete and unabridged form. Taxpayers foot the bill for these inquiries, and parents have a vested interest in knowing exactly what kind of conduct resulted in the horrendous mismanagement of a serious public health issue and the resignation of three district officials (so far).

There’s a balance to be struck in the short term. But the public’s patience isn’t infinite, and its tolerance for circumspection and delay is very limited.

Board members can use long-term transparency to clear the air and rebuild faith and trust. Or they can take the easy way out and allow mistrust and unanswered questions to fester. But ultimately there is no middle ground for them to stake out.

After all, they are dealing with a credibility problem.