HAVERHILL — In February, 272 students in three locations across the city will make a mid-school year move to a new home.

Hill View Montessori Charter School has bought a new building for $2.7 million. The school plans to move its students out of three locations, including the old Bartlett School, and relocate them to the new building. For months, officials of the school have been devising a plan to get all the students under one roof.

Yesterday, Hill View Montessori took ownership of the 50,000-square-foot, two-story building that formerly housed International Totalizing Systems, said Janet Begin, executive director of the school.

The building has enough room for 300 students.

Currently, the school's 272 students attend classes at the former Bartlett School on Washington Street, which is the main campus; Temple Emanu-El on Main Street; and Little Sprouts School on West Lowell Avenue.

Now the city must figure out what to do with the Bartlett School, which closed as a public school several years ago and was leased by Hill View Montessori. Bartlett School is one of several century-old public schools that the city closed because of maintenance problems.

When the purchase was announced at a fundraising breakfast for Hill View at Northern Essex Community College yesterday morning, the room erupted with applause from the 150 people who attended. Begin said the spacious new quarters will help the school bring students "toward that infinite future" envisioned by Maria Montessori, the founder of the teaching method that bears her name.

Montessori asserted that children should be allowed to learn at their own pace. That's one of the basic principles at Hill View and other Montessori schools.

Raising the money to buy the Ward Hill building took "an incredible effort by a host of people," said Jonnie Lyn Evans, community relations director for Hill View.

Pentucket Bank financed the purchase.

Hill View's new home is at 75 Foundation Ave., close to Cedar's International Foods. The back of the property borders the Merrimack River. Evans said there is enough space for a library, gymnasium and art and music rooms, as well as a large area where children can run around and play.

Parking at the old Bartlett School has been a challenge — "I think we've worn out our welcome with the neighbors," Evans said — but it won't be a problem at the new building, Hill View officials said.

Renovations to get the building ready for students and teachers will begin immediately, Evans said.

"We have a 90-day window," she said.

Several students spoke to the guests at the breakfast, many of them benefactors, about what they learn at Hill View and why they like it.

For example, Benjamin Rogers, a sixth-grader, talked about the mock presidential election that took place at the school last year. Before voting, students had to research the candidates' backgrounds and positions on issues, he said.

Jonathan Kenney, a third-grader at Hill View, said he likes "the activities and the work" at Hill View. He also likes the idea of having electives from which to choose, he said. He looks forward to learning woodworking when he advances to the upper grades.

The son of Cheryl and Tom Kenney of Haverhill, Jonathan said if he was not going to Hill View, he'd be "getting bored" in a conventional public school.

Hill View Montessori was founded in 2002 and began serving students the following year. At the beginning of this year, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to renew Hill View's charter for another five years.

International Totalizing Systems will continue to operate at the Foundation Avenue site, but will not be using as much space as it did. The firm will be a tenant of Hill View, Begin said.

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