BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board Monday night approved buying more than $479,000 in technological equipment for students, including 480 iPad Air tablets, 60 STEM Surface Pro tablets and 23 Smart Boards.

Monday’s purchase was part of a two-phase purchasing plan totaling nearly $1.4 million. The board earlier this year approved $890,000 for other technological items.

The iPad tablets will be distributed as follows: 180 at the middle school, 90 at the intermediate high, 30 at Center Avenue Community School and 30 at each of the six elementary schools.

While district officials hope to eventually have every classroom technology enhanced, this second phase of purchases will bring technology enhanced boards to most of the third grade classrooms, said Bill Raley, director of technology with Questeq. Classrooms in grades four and up now have boards installed for the new school year.

“Our philosophy is that it’s a teaching tool now,” said Mary Wolf, assistant superintendent of elementary education. “No board will be left unused.”

The first phase of technological purchases included 420 student laptops, 298 desktop computers and 67 Promethean Boards.

Board member Don Pringle said the district has gone from “bleeding edge” to “leading edge” in technology in a matter of months.

The board also discussed for about 30 minutes the potential use for the district’s four recently closed school buildings.

Broad Street, Clearfield, Meridian and Oakland elementary schools closed in June.

Bill Halle said he’d like to give businesses the opportunity to rent the buildings if they’d like.

“I just thought to find a way we can work with the schools that we have and still provide opportunities for the community,” he said.

Rent could help pay for maintenance costs, he said.

But Superintendent Dale Lumley said the solicitor recommended not renting out closed buildings because of liability issues.

“When you close a school and you mothball it, with reduced heat, reduced services, and not having professionals there, their cost is going to go up because they have to pay (for staffing) with a professional,” Lumley said. “Plus the fact that it’s just more difficult to monitor outside organizations when we rent those facilities out.”

He added: “We’re not inundated with requests.”

Board member Jim Keffalas, who works in real estate, said offering those buildings would probably not yield any profit for the district.

“I see where you’re coming from, Bill, but the school district is not in the rental property business or any business other than educating kids,” he said.