The final bell
Students leave former H-M-S Elementary school for last time
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NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS
Desks and other classroom furniture fill the hallways at the former H-M-S Elementary building in Hartley on Monday. The school served as the junior high this year.
The doors aren't locked yet, but Monday marked the end of an era for one of Hartley's most well known buildings.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn's old elementary school said goodbye to students for the final time. The multi-level building housed grades 5-8 this year so the middle school in Sanborn could undergo expansive renovations. With the new elementary open in Hartley, the halls are now quiet in the 85-year-old facility.
Math teacher Cheryl Kroese watched from her second floor room Friday afternoon as students helped move desks and other items downstairs. Originally from Melvin, she attended school in the building after the district merged with Hartley.
"It's a little sentimental," she said.
NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS
Students await dismissal outside the middle school in Hartley. The building said goodbye to children for the final time Monday. More photos will be included in next week's newspaper.
Just like its counterpart in Sanborn, architects deemed the old elementary building "functionally obsolete" several years ago. A lack of handicap accessibility and other problems led the district to pursue four bond issues to pay for facility improvements, the last of which passed in April of 2018 with a price tag of $18.9 million. The main portion of the building was built in 1936 and an additional wing was constructed in 1955.
Attached to the high school on Highway 18 in Hartley, the new elementary opened in August. Work at the middle school in Sanborn is on schedule and 5-8 grade students are slated to return when the 2021-22 school year starts, according to H-M-S Superintendent Patrick Carlin.
"Everything is going well," he said. "We have not determined a move in date at this time. I anticipate that the ribbon cutting will be prior to the board meeting in August."
An auction will be held at the old elementary school this summer to sell off remaining furniture and other goods. Middle school custodian Russ Meyer said most of the junior high classroom materials will be housed on buses before they're moved back to Sanborn, while sensitive items like band instruments will remain inside for safekeeping.