Taxpayers in the Butler School District and the city of Butler have to be wondering if Butler’s school board knows what it’s doing. The board on Monday night rejected two chances to sell the Broad Street and Oakland elementary schools, which were closed as part of last year’s consolidation plan. The district’s plan is in response to a steady and dramatic drop in enrollment over the past 30 or 40 years.

Rejecting the offers to buy two closed schools is a risk, especially given this week’s news regarding the fiscal problems facing the district and a proposed property tax increase in its budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Faced with a $6.9 million budget deficit, board members should be looking to reduce unecessary costs and maximize revenues before hitting residents with higher property taxes.

The board backed away from an offer on the Broad Street school from JM Beatty Furniture for $400,000. Earlier, Beatty had offered $540,000 for Broad Street, but after a proposal to keep the playground next to the school building open for city children, Beatty reduced its bid to reflect the loss of that half-block lot, which could have provided additional parking and storage.

After voting 5-4 to reject Beatty’s revised offer, the board voted 9-0 to seek more offers and sell the school soon. What is the message in those two votes?

Is the board confident better offers will be coming? Did the “no” vote on Beatty’s offer mean the board believes it will get bids above Beatty’s $400,000 offer while still adding the building to the property tax rolls — something that would benefit both the district and the city?

Even if a better offer comes in, an extra $50,000 or even $100,000 will not make much difference when put in the context of the district’s looming $6.9 million budget deficit.

The board’s rejection of Beatty’s offer was a surprise to some members. Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson, while saying he did not want to criticize the board, has come out strongly in favor of sellling the Broad Street building — and not to a nonprofit organization. Donaldson’s view is that putting the property back on the tax rolls is much better than having it remain as an empty building or selling to a nonprofit organization that won’t pay taxes.

Donaldson wonders, as do many people, if Beatty might return with another, despite the school board being told on Monday that $400,000 was the company’s final offer — and the furniture store owners will soon be looking elsewhere for a location in or near Butler.

Board members might be angling for a better price for the school buildings, or might be aware of other interested parties not yet known to the public. Still, they took a risk in rejecting a solid offer from JM Beatty.

Taxpayers expect the school board to sell the Broad Street school — and most prefer it not go to a nonprofit. If Beatty agrees to another deal or if another company makes an offer, the end result will be good. But the board took a risk in turning down Beatty’s revised offer Monday.

Putting the property on the tax rolls, and soon, is good for the school district and the city, so most people would agree with Donaldson’s position on the proposed sale. It does nobody any good to have the Broad Street school sitting empty while the board waits for elusive offers that might never come.