Why is it that the high school kid made more sense than most of the other people in the audience last night? I agree with him. Fix what needs to be fixed most first. The Soule and Fisk need the room. Mothball the Haigh and move on to the high school. I lost count of how many times I heard that good schools raise property values last night. But five good elementary schools and one good high school will do more for property values than six good elementary schools and a high school that is falling apart.

And Mr. Wilson, the least you could have done was to acknowledge that the authors of the enrollment study were not in error, but that you were the one who made the mistake after their explanation made it clear to the rest of us.

I couldn't agree more! The board needs to address the HS first and then circle back to the Soule and the Fisk. My only comment is that they need a different plan than the one they gave us 3 years ago.

Close the Haigh now. It is more painful for all involved to keep that school open. Rip it off like a bandaid don't torture us for the next 5 years and then close it. I know some Haigh parents who will support this plan, so we won't lose all of their support.

If the number of students keep going down then why do the costs never go down?

The Soule Sch needs to be closed also. Move those students to the Fisk.

I agree the Soule should be closed. A new High School should be built combining the Woodbury with the High Sch. Less Students + fewer schools = lower TAXES

Haigh is the smallest school in the district and if enrollment is scheduled to decline, I'm not understanding why we wouldn't divert it's renovation dollars [regardless if its $2.3 or $3.2M] and it's operating expenses [$900K] to other schools where it would benefit the town and improve the quality of the other schools?

As a taxpayer, I'm not going to vote for the Haigh remaining open or monies being invested in it, when we know very well, it's not needed. Salem residents are intelligent enough and aware enough, that if the enrollment numbers suggested otherwise, we'd not be talking about closing it.

As for closing the Soule, I'd have to ask how many students that facility is housing and if Fisk can actually accommodate the increase? With Haigh, those students could be dispersed among Lancaster, North Salem and Barron at least.

Why in the world have these schools gone to the gutter in the first place? Hello community school board members and school supervisors you are all now enjoying the positive feedback on the other good standing schools when you do the average and one school receives a 0 and another (the HS) reveives a low score too it brings the average down very significantly. Your grades are in super. and they are disappointing. I'm moving to Windham.

@JOE A, When these schools were built I can't imagine they were ever intended to last as long as they have. Back when they were built we didn't have computers, cell phones or hybird cars. Wake up it's 2012, these buildings should be torn down and rebuilt. One ob the big cost in renovations is the removal of all the materials used back in the 60's that have asbestos in them.

The high school is an embarrassment, anyone who has kids in sports and goes to other communities for games knows this. .And just so everyone is ready, when we are done with the schools the Town Office building, Police Station and Central fire station are next. Taxes are going up, is unavoidable

I have lived in Salem for 5 years now and each year the school committee's priorities have changed each year. Last year when Bernie Campbell suggested not renovating the Haigh school, he was blasted by the entire committee to the point he said it wasn't a suggestion, just a thought he had. How can the priorities change year to year. Yes, the voters voted no to the school committee's proposals, but the priorities remain the same (or at least they should). The school committee seems to just want to spend our money. If one plan does not pass, they will come up with a new plan to spend our money. Stick with your priorities and one day, your proposals will pass.

As a side note, did anyone notice the recent property tax rates for Salem and where the increase came from? Most were close to level funded, except when it came to the school portion of the tax rate.

Did anyone bring up the possibility that the reason Salem school enrollment is dropping so much is because the condition of our schools are deplorable? I think the SB needs to propose a plan that families and concerned citizens here can get excited about. Some will stand up and say "buildings don't teach", but perception is reality. When prospective home buyers with pre-school or school aged children are looking for a home on the I-93 corridor, most would pay 15% more in taxes to send their kids to a more modern school in a town with some recreational facilities. Salem is and will continue to have difficulty attracting young families as long as our schools and recreational facilities dont keep pace with our competition. Not attracting young families will eventually drive down home values as there are less buyers, and thus lower tax revenues. I know some would like to see Salem become an over-55 community and celebrate the lowest tax rate in the state but that is a pretty boring and lifeless town to spend the remainer of your years in. The families in Salem, if they turn out and are motivated, have the votes to pass whatever school renovation plan is needed to get Salem back on track and I know many seniors that want to give the children of Salem a more modern school like their kids had. The School Board needs to provide bold leadership and put something on the table that the families and others who care about Salem's future and our home values can get excited about.

Why not rent the Haigh School out to the Birches Academy of Salem NH? They are a public Charter school funded primarily by the state. Use the money from this towards renovations of the other schools in Salem.

Parent Taxpayer

Salem's tax rate needs to go up and there is room for that and we'll still be below other neighboring towns.