HELENA — Helena Superintendent, Rex Weltz proposed closing Hawthorne Elementary at the district's March trustee meeting due to declining enrollment and budget, and people packed a special trustee hearing to weigh in on what the closure would mean for the community.
Weltz said, “The purpose of tonight is the action we need to take in three recommendations around preserving and maintaining the core experience for all of our elementary students.”
There are three proposed options for Hawthorne’s future, closing the school at the end of this academic year, at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, or leaving the facility open.
(Hear what faculty and parents are saying about potential Hawthorne School closure)
Hawthorne is the smallest elementary school in the district and faces declining enrollment.
Many Hawthorne parents and employees are concerned with not only the school's future but also their own.
"I would lose my job, you know as a secretary I am not tenured and my children would lose their friendships,their family," Kathryn Dunkelberger says. "I am sorry I get emotional on this but my kids are important to me and I don’t like them being viewed as a number."
According to district documents, there are nine classrooms in use and a projected enrollment of fewer than 171 students for the upcoming school year.
If the school closes the district says Central School, which was renovated and reopened in 2019 and Kessler school, which the district has proposed renovating could absorb the Hawthorne students.
Other schools could also absorb some of the 13 and half full-time equivalent positions but about half of those positions could be cut.
Chris Jones, a Hawthorne parent says, "Ultimately we are going to have to choose between closing elementary schools in order to save money or getting the public to pass these bonds because we have seen in recent years in Helena just how important these neighborhood schools are."
Residents have expressed frustration with the process and worry that other schools could be closed if the cost savings from shutting down Hawthorne are not enough.
The public has not just expressed their concerns at meetings but also through ads and petitions across social media.
"We realize this is difficult for our students, their families, the community around Hawthorne, our community at large, and the staff," Weltz says.
A final decision on whether to close the school will be made during the trustee's June meeting.
