A three-month debate on districtwide boundary changes looks likely to end with the closure of at least one school — Hawthorne Elementary.

The fate of Dawes Middle School was less clear Monday afternoon.

Two board members — Kathy Danek and Don Mayhew — said they would vote against closing either school.

Two others, Ed Zimmer and Barb Baier, said they support plans to close both Hawthorne and Dawes. Richard Meginnis said he hasn’t decided which way he’ll vote.

And several board members, including Zimmer, said they found interesting a proposal by Keith Prettyman to keep Dawes open and transfer Goodrich students there while that school is renovated.

But a majority of the seven-member board — Larsen, Prettyman, Zimmer and Bair — said on Monday they were planning to vote for districtwide elementary school boundary changes that would close Hawthorne.

In the end, they said, they cannot support keeping a school open to serve what amounts to 75 children living in the Hawthorne area.

“I must say the proponents have done an excellent job of causing me really a lot of hesitation before I arrived at that position,” Prettyman said.

Last year, there were 128 children living in the Hawthorne attendance area, but about 60 of them transferred to other schools. Hawthorne is an English Language Learner site, so 105 kids needing those services were bused there. And about 70 more students transferred in from other schools.

Prettyman said he decided to vote for the planning committee recommendation — which closes Hawthorne — after being assured that there’s room for Hawthorne area students at Eastridge and Randolph elementaries. He also said he was assured that the ELL students could attend their neighborhood school of Hartley; and that the district would probably be able to eliminate the portable there even after taking the ELL students.

“Having had all those questions answered,” he said, “you’re looking at a building serving a resident population of 75 kids, and I’m hard-pressed to keep that building open.”

Larsen said she sees students moving to Eastridge and Randolph as a continuation of a quality education. The only phone calls she said she had received were from older residents who have an emotional attachment to the school and are who are reassured to find out the district will continue to use it for educational purposes.

Zimmer, as chair of the planning committee, said he plans to move the recommendations forward and support them.

Baier said it’s important to remember that if the recommendations pass, the buildings won’t be boarded up but will be used for other educational purposes. Prettyman agreed and said it’s important when considering other uses that the board keep in mind that it’s possible the building might be needed as an elementary in the future.

“We’re talking about a different repurposing of (Hawthorne) because that building has been repurposed for years,” Prettyman said. Most recently, he said, it’s been used as an ELL site.

Mayhew said he can’t support proposals to close the schools because their programs are serving the district well.

“I know efficiency and cost savings, while important, should not be the primary motivators of whether a building should stay open or not.”

Danek, who lives in the northeast district, has been a staunch supporter of both schools, but particularly Dawes in northeast Lincoln.

At last week’s board meeting, she questioned why Schoo’s capacity had gone up to 932 students when a schematic design approved by the board had it at 750.

“I’m not sure we need a 932-kid middle school when we’re talking about closing a school,” she said.

Dennis Van Horn, associate superintendent of business affairs, said the change had to do with a new formula for computing capacity and neither the budget or square footage of the building has changed.

Prettyman, Larsen and Zimmer seemed open to further examining a proposal to leave the school open at least while Goodrich is renovated, though some board members expressed concern about committing to a renovation for which funding hasn’t been secured.

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com