A committee of about 40 people may decide, or at least guide, how the Butler Area School District reorganizes its buildings.

Superintendent Brian White outlined Monday night a plan to form a large, informal committee of parents, government officials, teachers and community members. The group would meet four times this fall to try and winnow the four proposed options for a restructuring of the district down to just one or two.

“Schools are substantial investments by the community,” White said. “They're an enormous capital investment by the community. We need to bring people together to have some voice in this.”

White said he wouldn't sit on the committee, and he envisions just two school directors joining it. “It isn't Brian White's committee,” White said.

Instead, the committee would be left to itself to grapple with the four options, as well as survey data being collected from school district families.

White laid out plans for the committee's composition. It would include members such as one parent from each elementary school, four student advisory board members and one county government representative. White said he would recommend having at least one chairman with an education background outside the school district.

It may get heated, he admitted.

“If it's a little ugly, it's a little ugly,” White said.

The committee won't hold public meetings, White said, and instead will report back to the school board.

The board didn't take action on the committee idea Monday night, but seemed happy with the plan, albeit with minor thought on the specifics of its composition. Any final decisions would be theirs to make.

The four options in consideration are:

Keeping things as they are.

The current system, but with two 5-6 middle schools instead of one.

Eliminating the middle school, putting 6-8 in the intermediate and 9-12 in a high school. This option would add fifth grade to elementary buildings, necessitating an extra elementary.

Eliminating the middle school, putting 5-8 in the intermediate and 9-12 in a high school. This option also would add an elementary.

The latter three options eliminate the problematic downtown middle school building.