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06/08/2026
Residents hope to transform beloved school into useful community center
Last week, we published a story about the future of Hawthorne Elementary. A group of locals came together to establish a nonprofit organization to fundraise and perhaps convert the building into a community center. While the project is just getting its legs, I wanted to take a look at how other cities in Montana have found success in reviving old schools into social hubs and to ask: Can Helena do it?
I’ve been reporting in the Capital City for more than two years now, and one of my main beats is the local school district. From early on, it has become clear that our education leaders face a tall task of identifying and balancing priorities so that all students have equitable educational opportunities.
I’ve sat through numerous board meetings, listened to hours of public testimony and reported on budget challenges that never seemed to have an end-all solution. And it was from those discussions that I first learned that Hawthorne Elementary could be shut down due to the building’s costly maintenance needs.
Before reporting on Hawthorne, I was unfamiliar with how smaller area schools impact their neighborhoods. After all, I come from a small community with a small school district that offered only one elementary school.
With other district buildings, we’ve seen the school district enter into a long-term lease with St. Peter’s Health to repurpose the former Ray Bjork Learning Center into a day care and seek project proposals for the May Butler Building without success. I half-expected that Hawthorne would have a similar story: leased out for a different use or, worse, just sit vacant.
But when a resident proposed turning Hawthorne into a community center, it caught the attention of the board trustees and the superintendent. I reported on small updates over the last eight months or so, but wanted to hold off on a deeper dive story until I knew that both the school district and the project applicant were on board.
After Superintendent Rex Weltz announced that the district had entered into a short-term agreement with Bob Schmitt, a former Hawthorne parent who had proposed the project, we decided to pursue a story about how other towns in Montana have repurposed old school buildings, perhaps no longer suitable for students, into valuable community centers.
Thanks to the guidance from my editors, we landed on an angle that explored how these cities and towns addressed old school buildings that were no longer in use, how they became these central hubs for their community and how they sustained themselves.
Over the last few months, I interviewed community center organizers in Livingston, Bozeman and Red Lodge who all focus on providing spaces for the arts. From those conversations, there was one main thread they credited with their center’s success: identifying a need in their communities and providing spaces and services that met it.
While it’s seemingly a good thing to find a new purpose for a historic school building, organizers emphasized that these centers need to be useful and that the community feels the need to invest in them.
From public testimony given to the school district, it’s clear that Helena residents, teachers, parents and students saw the value in Hawthorne as a neighborhood school. The remaining question is: Does that same level of support translate to a Hawthorne community center?
Public Notice
Helena Public Schools will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Helena High School and Project for Alternative Learning Tuesday, June 16. The Helena Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the event, which will feature updates about the construction from district administrators and project architects. The ceremony will be on the north side of the high school campus, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The city of Helena is seeking input from community stakeholders and property and business owners about zoning regulations. Residents are encouraged to complete a survey by June 15.
By The Numbers
The total number of high school students who graduated this past weekend, according to the school district. Helena High’s 2026 graduating class had 221 students, while Capital High had 307. The alternative high school, PAL, also celebrated 28 graduates.
5 Things to Know in Helena
Former Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins announced that his biography, “Run. The Wilmot Collins Story,” will be released Oct. 6. The book, written by Dan Blake Smith, covers Collins’ life story from his time as a refugee in Liberia to his journey to the United States and becoming Montana’s first Black mayor.
“Thank you to the Helena community that has embraced my family and me along the way,” Collins wrote on his Facebook page. “Your support has truly made this possible. My hope is that this story will inspire others to believe in hope, resilience and community.”
Lewis and Clark County saw a 40.44% voter turnout from the June 2 primary elections, which is slightly above the state’s average of 37.65%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website. There are 53,028 registered voters in the county, and 21,447 ballots were cast. During the 2024 primaries, a presidential election year, the county saw a 45.95% voter turnout
A $70,000 project to improve the parking lot at the DeFord trailhead has received pushback from recreationalists and land trust organizers after they say the public process wasn’t followed and renovations would draw more traffic to the area, according to an IR article. The commission voted 3-2 to move forward with the project during a city meeting last week.
Residents may have noticed Mount Helena’s “H” looks more vibrant after local high schoolers gave the symbol a fresh coat of paint last week. About 26 students in various clubs from both Helena and Capital high schools took part, according to an IR story, and staff and students hope to make the outing a regular tradition.
While the Helena School District prepares to break ground on the new Helena High, district staff have launched a project to commemorate the history of the original school. Students will prep this summer, and next school year will begin gathering stories from community members who attended HHS and wish to share memories from their time there. Residents interested in contributing to the project must fill out an online form.
Might Be Fun
The Montana Historical Society will host a history fest during the week of June 24 to celebrate the opening of the Montana Heritage Center. The fest will include four days of special events, including free concerts, free tours of the museum, the Capitol building and the Original Governor’s Mansion, an Indigenous art market and hands-on workshops. Some events require registration. Visit the MHS website for additional information about the events, dates and times.
The Montana Club is offering afternoon tea in its third-floor Garden Room on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this summer. The refined tea experience will offer 90-minute seatings twice a day. Patrons must reserve a spot for afternoon tea online.
