BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board on Monday approved selling the closed Clearfield Elementary School to a company that might benefit the farmers in Oakland Township and in the region. The vote was 8-0.

CNC Malt, co-owned by Brendan Carroll, submitted a bid for the school of $235,000 about a week ago. The average appraised value of Clearfield is $236,000.

The company is relatively young, “about a year in the making,” Carroll told the board. The company has two employees, but plans to hire four more in the coming year.

CNC Malt uses Pennsylvania-grown grains to make malt for sale to breweries, bakeries and distilleries across the state, and Carroll said this can benefit local farmers.

Board member Suzie Bradrick asked if there would be pollution from the facility. Carroll said there would not. Neighbors of the plant can simply expect different pleasant aromas like bakery-type scents during stages of the malting process, Carroll said.

In addition to benefiting the district, the sale also could be helpful for farmers, providing a way for them to diversify their crops, Carroll said.

“They'd be growing for us barley, wheat and rye,” Carroll said.

“The advantage to the local farmers is we pay a premium for our grain. It's approximately the double feed spot price and can be as much as triple, so for a local farm struggling to keep the family business going, this is a nice specialty crop that allows them some diversification and opportunity to keep the farm going.”

According to Carroll, few farmers in the state grow Pennsylvania barley, although the crop was successfully grown in the past.

“There's not a surplus availability of that product, so we had to contract some farmers,” he said.

CNC Malt has two contracted farmers and is looking to expand that number to up to 12, Carroll told the board.

Because so much of the business relies on the growing period, Carroll expects sales to begin in October, he said.

“It's a time-consuming process, so that's where we are now: waiting for our crop to come in,” he said, calling it a long wait time.

Carroll expects the company will sell its malted product to about 30 breweries in the state this year, out of 360 breweries statewide.

Board member Bill Halle was concerned about the financial viability of the company and asked if the company would need to finance the purchase of the school.

According to Carroll, CNC Malt would look at paying half of the cost immediately and then finance the remainder, but Carroll said the company does have the ability to pay for the building outright. Carroll said it would simply be a matter of what's best for the company's cash flow and financing.

By only putting half of the money down, CNC would have more reserve funding to grow the company faster, he said.

CNC Malt also would be pay taxes to the district, which Carroll stressed to the board.

The playground at the Clearfield school is leased to the township supervisors, according to Tom King, district solicitor. The supervisors had received a grant from the county's parks and recreation department to pay for playground equipment, but they needed a space for the playground.

King said CNC Malt was made aware of that lease, and it would be up to CNC Malt to either terminate or continue it.

The sales agreement must be go before a Butler County judge before the sale is final. CNC Malt would have until seven days before the hearing to rescind the offer on the building, King said.

Clearfield was closed as part of the district's consolidation, which took place during the summer of 2015. Three other elementary schools were closed in the consolidation: Broad Street, Meridian and Oakland elementary schools.

The school board recently approved a sales agreement for Meridian with Michael Wright of 70E Solutions for $425,000.