BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board approved a sales proposal for the Oakland Elementary School, taking its third vote on the matter during a special board meeting Wednesday night.

The Oakland school is for sale following the district’s consolidation last summer. That action closed five elementary schools and reopened the Center Avenue school as an alternative and special education school.

The board approved a sales agreement with Monty Edgar, owner of Woodbine Oaks trailer park next to the Oakland school and Edgar Electric.

Edgar offered the district $363,600 for the school, which has an average appraised market value of $362,500.

Edgar previously told the board he wants to use the building for his electric company and to lease commercial office space.

The board voted 5-2 to sell the school, the first time it has gotten the minimum five votes needed to do so. The board previously voted on Edgar’s offer in March and May, rejecting the sale twice.

The sales agreement will be drawn up, and once it is signed by both the district and the buyer, it will be submitted to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas for a sales hearing before a judge, according to district solicitor Tom King.

Board Vice President Jennifer Cummings argued that the board and administration should still have a full discussion on whether the district can repurpose the Oakland building.

For instance, the board had previously briefly discussed leasing parts of the building while maintaining ownership in case there is a need for more space.

Cummings also suggested the district explore making a magnet school at the closed Oakland building, but board feedback suggests that the closed Broad Street Elementary School may be a better option to keep for future endeavors.

A magnet school is one that specializes in a discipline, such as the arts, and would draw students from throughout the school district.

“A building is not a liability,” Cummings said. “It’s an asset. Focusing on how to most quickly get rid of it is fire-fighting, and thinking about how we can use it to help is strategizing ... Even if it is a new idea, isn’t that what we need?”

For board member Bill Halle, the district is better off holding onto Broad Street given its central location in the district. But that does not mean that Halle believes a magnet school could be a reality any time soon.

“Is that necessarily practical right now? I don’t think it is,” Halle said, citing more important financial struggles.

“We’re acting like everything is OK. To me, I am greatly concerned, I don’t think everything is OK in Butler,” he said. “When you look at our financial projections, when you look at the trend of what’s happening in the community ... I have great concern so the idea of starting something like that, that would be a cost in addition to what we’re doing (and would be) impractical.”

Board member Al Vavro also stated that the creation of a magnet school would be a huge financial undertaking for the district.

Superintendent Dale Lumley said starting a magnet school would also require a lot of administrative work and research, requiring at least a year.

“It’s difficult. The question for us would be, ‘Is there community support for it?’” Lumley said. “It will be expensive ... and so, if you’re interested in doing it, it would take about a year of planning to really get things where we would need them to be.”

Broad Street currently has no offers, and the previous interested buyer, Chad Beatty from J.M. Beatty Furniture Store, is no longer interested in the property, according to Lumley and King.