HELENA — A sea of blue and yellow filled the Helena Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday evening.
Hawthorne Elementary School staff members and parents are making their voices heard as Superintendent Rex Weltz recommends for the school to close.
(Watch to hear more from the school board meeting)
Over 200 community members attended the meeting online and in person.
Superintendent Weltz gave trustees three options:
- The school would shut down in the 2025 to 2026 school year.
- The school would shut down in the 2026 to 2027 school year.
- The school would remain open as it currently is.
Weltz says if shut down, the school could either be put up for sale or leased.
He says there have already been organizations reaching out about using the building.
With the money gained from selling or leasing the school, Weltz would want the district to purchase 60 to 80 acres of land within city limits to house their transportation and other future needs.
He also says it could be possible for the district to restore its music and PE programs.
"Continuing to operate Hawthorne as an elementary school with only 180 students at the detriment of the other 3500 elementary students is simply nonsensical. If we close Hawthorne and restore music and PE, we can return to predictable weekly schedules," said Sarah Dramstad, a music teacher at Four Georgians and Jefferson Elementary Schools.
Hawthorne staff member Kathryn Dunkelberger said, "The way this is being handled has poisoned the community's confidence in the school district and the superintendent. For example, the promise of returning music and PE - being used as a platform to close Hawthorne – is returning music and PE a promise that can be made with 100% certainty? Or is this just a weapon being used to pit the district against Hawthorne? I find it in very bad taste to use one school as the scapegoat for the district's shortcomings."
The details on the financial impact of closing the school and what will happen to students and staff have not been released yet.
It is important to note that these are just the superintendent's recommendations, and the board must vote before any changes happen.
There will be a community town hall meeting with the superintendent at 6:00 PM on Thursday in the Hawthorne gym.
