The city is asking the Butler School District to keep one of its city elementary schools and the junior high school open.

City council Tuesday night backed a resolution urging the district to keep Emily Brittain Elementary School open, as well as reconfiguring the district’s grade system to move fourth and fifth graders to the junior high school on East North Street.

The school district is exploring options to close up to 7 of its 11 elementary schools, including possibly all three elementary schools in the city and/or the junior high school.

“We’re asking they keep one elementary school as well as the junior high open,” said Councilman Bill May. “We can’t have that massive structure sitting there empty.”

The school district in October was presented with three consolidation recommendations by Thomas and Williamson consultant firm of Pittsburgh. Those plans involved closing six or seven schools and reconfiguring grades into a kindergarten through 3 or 4, 4 to 5 through 6, 7 through 9 and 10 through 12 model.

The plans include closing the three city elementary schools: Broad Street, Center Avenue and Emily Brittain.

The district Monday night presented two new plans, both of which would keep Emily Brittain open.

One of the new plans includes maintaining a kindergarten to sixth grade configuration at the elementary level and closing the junior high school and three elementary schools. The other plan goes with the K to 4 configuration and keeps the junior high open.

“I have to credit the school district,” May said. “They met with council to discuss our concerns, and we at least are still in the ballgame.”

The school district is looking to consolidation for financial reasons connected with its occupancy rates.

Proposals to close six elementary schools would save the district up to $4.3 million per year, while the two recent proposals would have a savings up to $3.5 million.

The city is asking to keep one of its schools open to protect its neighborhoods.

“A lot of families move into the city to be close to our schools,” Mayor Tom Donaldson said.

Council also expressed concern over what would happen to the school properties should the schools close.

The city isn’t the first municipality to speak out on the subject.

Center Township supervisors last week passed a resolution asking the school board to keep the Center Township Elementary School with kindergarten through sixth grade.

The supervisors expressed concern about moving the fourth and fifth grade students from in the township into the city school.

“The Center Township board of supervisors believes that the health, safety and welfare of its children and families are best served when students from grades kindergarten through sixth remain at the Center Township Elementary School,” the resolution said.

School officials have said they expect to make a decision on school closings early in 2015.