Lawen is in Harney County School District 4 (Crane School,
grades K-8) and Harney County Union High School District 1J (
Crane Union High School). Crane Union opened in 1918 in Lawen and moved to
Crane in 1920. Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with
Treasure Valley Community College. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.
Lawen Elementary School Previously Lawen had its own school district, Lawen Elementary School District, and its own school. The school, which had grades 1-8, was a two room facility, described by
The Daily Astorian as "tiny". The school grounds had a septic tank, a well, a horse barn, and a bell tower. Some students rode on horses. In May 1984, a flood from
Malheur Lake went into the school property, with the septic tank and well affected. Therefore, students went to Crane Elementary on what was supposed to be a temporary basis. Circa 1985 it was anticipated that the waters itself would enter the school building. At the time, nine students had been at Lawen Elementary.
United Press International stated that possible repairs would have been "expensive". On June 28, 1988, the
Statesman Journal stated that the final vote count for the May 1987 referendum was 7-4. According to a May 1987
The Astorian article, at the time there were 33 registered voters; the article stated five voted in favor to close, three voted against it, and the remainder did not vote. At the time of the vote, there were three Lawen area students attending the Crane School and one attending a school in Burns. On May 31, 1988, seven voters voted in favor to consolidate Lawen into Crane, and four voted against. In 1988 the Lawen district merged into the Crane district. ==References==