WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- There are some big changes ahead for Waukesha families.

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Waukesha School Board announced that both Bethesda and Hawthorne elementary schools will be shut down, citing low enrollment.

The closures will go into effect for the 2026-2027 school year.

"It's a good school to go to, it really is sad," said Bethesda alum Nala Liebl, who attended from kindergarten through fifth grade. "I think it'll be good just to get new people going, lot of new friends, lot of new connections. I don't think that's necessarily a bad idea, but then again, some kids will think it's kinda sad."

But for parents, it's a different story. 

"Sad, angry, frustrated," said Bethesda parent Meghan Eigenbrod. "It's not closing because it's a bad school or in a bad neighborhood or anything like that, it's closing because of insufficient care by the district, and they've said that themselves."

Eigenbrod said she and her husband moved from Chicago and had actually chosen their home due to the school.

"We were looking around the suburbs, this house popped up, and we thought, oh my gosh, perfect, we have our kid's elementary school and that's why we chose this house," Eigenbrod said. "Families were choosing this school to send their kids to."

Now, she and other Bethesda mothers like Madison Gonzalez are looking to enroll their children outside of the Waukesha school district.

"We have a collection of families who moved here for this building, this school, this community," Gonzalez said. "I think it's going to be greatly affected."

The decision came after months of debate between the district and its families.

Melissa Gordina, a parent at Lowell Elementary which was one of the schools on the chopping block, said she feels for those affected.

"Honestly it's been a rollercoaster of emotions since this has all started," Gordina said. "My heart goes out to the families of Bethesda and Hawthorne and I know it was a hard decision on both ends, I know regardless of what choice was being made it was going to be tough on every family."

As a member of the Parent Teacher Organization at Lowell, Gordina said she's focused on making sure the families coming into the school feel included and accepted.

"This isn't about a school versus a school," Gordina said. "This is about all of us coming together to better the future for all of our kids."