BUTLER TWP — The committee to review the Butler School District consolidation will have its first meeting Wednesday.

It will be at 4:30 p.m. at the Harriger Educational Services Center, 110 Campus Lane.

The board this spring voted to close five elementary schools and to realign all grades in other buildings because of declining enrollment.

Four of the buildings potentially will be sold and Center Avenue was reopened as an alternative school for students with special needs.

Board Vice President Jennifer Cummings will chair the committee. She has identified four main issues it will review:

Determine the effectiveness of the building consolidation

Identify any negative impacts from the consolidation

Ensure that closed buildings will not be needed later

Provide a baseline for strategies of the district.

On Wednesday, the committee wants to devise a way to measure those issues, Cummings said.

For instance, a number of the new transportation routes after the consolidation have been criticized. The committee will look at how school bus routes are working now.

Board member Suzie Hammonds-Bradrick wants to understand how such problems occurred and what else needs to be done to correct those issues.

Seven board members have expressed interest in being on the committee, but the specific members who will serve on it will be determined Wednesday, Cummings said.

The committee has an interim report on its findings due to the school board Jan. 31, with a final report due Feb. 29.

Part of this process includes drafting a sales agreement with J.M. Beatty Furniture, which has bid $530,000 to buy the closed Broad Street Elementary School building. Under this agreement, the playground on the property would transfer to the city.

An initial sales agreement of $475,007 for Broad Street with the Arc of Butler County was reversed Dec. 1 when the new board was seated.

“It’s not a meeting to reverse anything,” said Hammonds-Bradrick of the Wednesday meeting. “It’s what you do after a major decision. It’s just responsible.”