BUTLER TWP — A written bomb threat at Butler Intermediate High School was discovered in a student bathroom around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing the school to be evacuated and students eventually were dismissed for the day, acting Superintendent William Pettigrew confirmed.

A student discovered the threat, which had Tuesday’s date and a time included, and immediately reported it to school administrators. Pettigrew said Butler Township police were contacted and used bomb-sniffing dogs to sweep the building. They turned up nothing, he said this morning, and classes resumed today on a normal schedule.

Because of a gas leak at Butler Senior High School earlier Tuesday morning, students could not be transported there.

Pettigrew apologized for having the students stand out in the rain, but said it was necessary.

“Their health and safety was the main concern that I had, and I had to get them out of the building as quickly as possible,” he said.

Parents of the students were notified of the threat, and students were dismissed early. As of around 1 p.m., the last 100 students of the 1,600 students who attend the school were waiting to be bused home.

Pettigrew said the bus delay was because the vehicles had already been in use to bus the Butler Senior High School students home earlier because of the gas leak.

He also said the matter is now a police investigation.