HELENA — It is a question on many Helena residents' minds: Will Hawthorne Elementary School stay open, or did it close its doors for good when the final bell rang for the last day of school on Tuesday?
The Helena Public School Board of Trustees decided on Tuesday to close the school.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
The three options the board picked from were to close Hawthorne for this upcoming school year, close it for the school year after that, or keep the school open.
In a six-to-one vote, the board of trustees decided to close Hawthorne Elementary School for the 2025 to 2026 school year, with trustee Rachel Robison voting no.
"The master's facilities plan says Kessler would need to be a new [and] larger school before Hawthorne would be decommissioned," she said. "I feel like that is what's happening here."
Tuesday night's meeting was filled with passionate public comments from Hawthorne parents and faculty.
"What you have chosen to do to these students at Hawthorne is unforgivable," said Hanna Warhank, a Hawthorne parent. "You did not allow them the time to say goodbye to their friends that they'll never go to school with again or to transition to a new school in an academically successful way."
Hawthorne staff member and parent Kriste Klein said, "Shame on all of you for even considering the closure of a beloved elementary school, and not even one of you had the decency to come and see our amazing students and staff at work making beautiful things happen every day."
District officials say closing the school will save the district roughly $1,000,000 annually.
"It's really tragic in some ways. We have so many competing [and] valid needs," said trustee Janet Armstrong. "We can't fill them all."
According to previous MTN reporting, Hawthorne is the smallest and one of the oldest schools in the district.
The school had 179 students enrolled for the 2024 to 2025 school year, and educators and kids used nine classrooms.
"We can't keep putting these Hawthorne families in this uncertainty year after year," said trusteer Jenny Murnane-Butcher. "While this is a tough decision, I believe that we need to make the tough decision so that those families can move on with the transition."
The district says that with Hawthorne closing, many of its students will go to other schools like Central or Kessler Elementary Schools.
About half of the 13-and-a-half full-time equivalent staff positions could be absorbed by other schools.
A celebration of Hawthorne will be held on Wednesday evening from 5:00 to 8:00 pm.
It will be held on the school's playground with live music, food trucks, and yard games.
