Bonneville Elementary School will close to students for the final time, capping a nearly two-decade effort by the Ogden School District to modernize the elementary school experience for children in the district.

Jer Bates, director of communications for the Ogden School District, confirmed the closing to the Standard-Examiner in an email.

“This is something we have been planning for and communicating to our patrons for about two years,” he said. “At the end of this school year we will close Bonneville Elementary. Next fall we will open the newly constructed Hillcrest Elementary, which replaces the original Hillcrest on the same site. Currently all of the Bonneville and Hillcrest students are together at Bonneville. With the opening of the new, larger and safer school, we will be considering some boundary adjustments for elementary schools north of 12th street to utilize our newer schools to maximum efficiency as well as considering geographic convenience for our families. That being said, the majority of our students presently combined in the Hillcrest/Bonneville boundary will migrate to the new Hillcrest.”

Bates continued:

“Bonneville is the last of currently operating old elementary schools, built in the previous century, that has never had significant renovations or safety upgrades,” he said. “The closure of Bonneville will complete a roughly 20-year effort to move all of our elementary students into schools that are newer or have had extensive renovations.”

Bonneville Elementary, which opened in 1965, has around 45 students at the moment.

“With intended boundary adjustments, we expect the enrollment at the new Hillcrest to be closer to 550 to 600 students,” Bates said. “This will help with optimizing enrollment across each of our elementary schools in the northern part of Ogden.”

He said that this program of replacement and renovation is important for the district’s goals.

“In recent years Ogden School District has replaced older elementary schools with newer facilities at a ratio of approximately 3:2, roughly three older buildings being replaced by two newer facilities,” he said. “This has allowed Ogden School District to place students and educators in schools that are much more comfortable and more conducive to modern teaching and learning. The new schools are also more safe and more secure. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ogden residents supported the construction of many elementary schools across our community. Generations later, our residents have supported a modernization of schools that will serve our students well for years to come.”

Ogden School District Superintendent Luke Rasmussen said he’s happy to see this major accomplishment for the district checked off.

“We are thrilled that all of our elementary schools have undergone renovations or rebuilds in recent years, ensuring equitable learning opportunities for every student, no matter where they live in Ogden,” he said. “We deeply appreciate the support of our community in making this possible and look forward to completing our final elementary project for the foreseeable future.”

Bates did not have any information on what may happen with the Bonneville building once it is vacated.