Some occasions deserve acknowledgment. Monday’s action by the Butler School Board is one such occasion. By bringing public water to a reopened Summit Elementary School, board members are keeping a promise they made to the Summit Township community to reopen the school, this time with a restored and safe water system, after lax management forced its closure.

The building has been out of use since January, when reports emerged about high levels of lead and copper in the water — metal concentrations that some school officials knew about since the beginning of the school year and did not correct, nor did they notify the public about the specific problem or attempt to protect students or employees from using the contaminated well water. It erupted into scandal only after school board member Leland Clark demanded answers, which administrative officials could not provide. The superintendent eventually resigned along with an assistant superintendent and the director of maintenance. Ongoing investigations include one by the Butler County District Attorney to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

Meanwhile, Summit School closed and its classes are temporarily relocated in the vacant Broad Street Elementary building in Butler while the board sorts out its options.

Monday’s vote was a correct option.

Several board members cited the commitment they had made earlier this year to get the school open again. Unless there had been an extreme change of circumstances — and there has not been — then the board members had to keep their word and honor their commitment.

It was also the correct decision from a practical standpoint. By paying Pennsylvania American Water Co. to install the line and provide water, the district can get out of the water treatment business, its regulatory obligations and the uncertainty and liability faced by every entity that supplies its own water.

The cost of extending the water line, an estimated $231,250, compares with the cost of a chemical treatment system to correct the acidity in the well water that’s corroding copper and lead in the Summit School plumbing — and the risk remains that more would need to be done to correct the acidity of the well water.

Perhaps even more important is that the decision makes water a nonissue. The board still must determine whether Summit’s interior plumbing should be replaced. Engineering consultant Gannett Fleming is likely to advise on that decision later. But even if the school must replace the pipes and fixtures, that would happen regardless of whether Summit continued with well water or switched to the public supply. Just remove the doubt altogether.

All told, the consultant calculates the public water option would save money long-term in a couple of ways:

n Capital outlay and the water itself will cost the district $324,250 over 20 years; that compares with $544,000 over the same period to maintain wells that provide water for free.

n The district no longer would have to pay $20,000 a year salary for a licensed water operator.

After six months of mayhem, the Summit Elementary water situation appears to be moving in the right direction. Other issues exposed in the scandal remain. At least with the original problem sorted out, the board and community can get back to the selection of a new superintendent, balancing a budget and other challenging priorities.