Butler Area School District seeks grant to cover roof replacement for Center Township Elementary
BUTLER TWP — Butler Area School District officials are working to fund repairs to Center Township Elementary School’s roof through a state Department of Community and Economic Development grant.
The district’s board voted unanimously at a meeting Monday evening, Aug. 10, to apply for $2,520,000 through DCED’s Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program. The board also voted unanimously to approve using $630,000 — a quarter of the requested funds — to meet the matching requirement for the grant.
District superintendent Brian White said the project came about after the department reopened the grant. He said the district has previously applied for grants for roofs on three other buildings: Center Avenue, Northwest and Connoquenessing elementary schools.
“We don’t know when the funding will be announced, but it would be nice to have some else pay for our roofs,” he said.
He said regardless of whether the district receives the grant, the work will happen sooner or later. He said other buildings’ roofs would be prioritized first if the district has to shell out total costs.
According to the state’s DCED website, the Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program is available to school entities for any project with a total cost over $500,000. Up to $5,000,000 can be requested for one project.
The next Butler Area school board meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14.
