This story is excerpted from Helena This Week, a weekly newsletter covering Helena city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events.
The former Hawthorne Elementary could be the site of a new neighborhood community center, according to Helena school officials.
During a school board meeting last week, Helena Public School District Superintendent Rex Weltz updated the trustees on the status of the district’s request for proposals regarding the future of two decommissioned buildings, the May Butler building and Hawthorne Elementary.
Over the last two months, Weltz said, the district received only one proposal for Hawthorne that could result in a long-term lease agreement: a two-year plan to create a “multi-purpose” center at the Madison Avenue property.
“We’re a little excited about this,” Weltz said at last week’s meeting.
The project, currently called the Hawthorne Community Center Helena, would be operated by a nonprofit organization and provide spaces for community use, similar to Bozeman’s Emerson Center for Arts and Culture, Weltz said.
“It’s an arts place, it’s an office space, it’s for ballet, whatever,” Weltz added. “It’s a community-use area which I think is highly valuable.”
The district declined a request from Montana Free Press to release a copy of the proposal, including the applicant’s name, while the project is under review.
Weltz said during the meeting Jan. 12 that the proposal will be reviewed by the district’s lawyers before the facilities department makes a formal recommendation to the trustees.
“I’m excited that we’re not going to sit on a building that’s going to sit there and be dormant,” Weltz said. “We want activity, and we want liveliness in the neighborhood.”
Last June, the school board of trustees voted to close Hawthorne Elementary to address the school’s declining student enrollment and about $4.6 million in maintenance the district could not afford.
Another district facility, the May Butler building at 55 S. Rodney St., which previously housed the administration, was also closed. However, the district didn’t receive any proposals for that building before the deadline earlier this month. In 2024, school officials declined two proposals to use the building as a homeless shelter.
In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town.
latest stories
A solution to climate change? Dressing better.
This summer was the hottest on record in the contiguous U.S., a staggering statistic that can leave many feeling despondent, said Shanti Devins with Climate Smart Missoula, the nonprofit group that founded Climate Solutions Week. The feeling of hopelessness that can accompany climate change awareness, Devins said, is exactly why she and her colleagues launched the annual event. One of the best-loved events is the annual fashion show featuring upcycled and sustainable designs from local makers.
Who, in the end, is Alani Bankhead?
Alani Bankhead attracted the national political spotlight in the final weeks of summer for reasons no U.S. Senate candidate wants. Democrats and Republicans alike waited to see whether the Democratic nominee would end her campaign to clear a path for independent Seth Bodnar. Instead of withdrawing, Bankhead announced she would finish the race, ramped up campaign events and doubled down on two messages popular with the Democratic base: the possibility of attempting to impeach President Donald Trump, and passage of universal health care. In a new interview with MTFP, Bankhead hones her last-ditch pitch to voters.
How Montana’s candidates for U.S. House and Senate plan to tackle healthcare
With the 2026 midterm election a month away and absentee ballots being mailed to voters Oct. 9, MTFP asked the state’s candidates for federal office how they would address Montanans’ healthcare concerns.
