Why I Support Salem High School Renovations

I did not support the previous Salem High School Renovations project largely because there were so many unanswered questions.  Despite repeated inquiries no one seemed to be concerned of the uncertainties.  I was convinced of the need for renovations.  But I was not sold on that plan.  At the time I wished I could have supported it.

This time around I was expecting the same old lines. Taxpayers are a bunch of cheap rich people who don’t care about the Town or the kids.  And advocates did not disappoint me.  To many in the education cartel, those who do not tow the party line are infidels undeserving of mercy.  I was skeptical.  But I wanted keep an open mind and to hear more.

Some of the claims such as it would improve education outcomes I knew did not jibe with the research on the factors effecting K-12 education.  The effect if any of facilities on education outcomes is about the same as a pin drop during the Super Bowl.  If they are mistaken about such basic facts, what else is wrong?   Are they fudging the numbers?   When educators revert to the indecipherable din of education jargon I wonder what they are hiding.  This time there was no education speak.

This plan was in plain English.  In this proposal the School District has done a much more thorough job of planning. When I first heard about this project I made an estimate of what I thought it would cost to build a new school for 12-14 hundred students.  As I recall, I came up with about $75 million as a high-end guestimate, which is what the cost turned out to be in this proposal.  Many great schools have buildings that cost a lot less.  But that is what we can realistically expect from the current system.  In order to do better we would have to change the way we educate kids.  But there are not many of us willing to do just that. 

There are two major problems with patching up the existing high school.  The first is that much of the basic infrastructure is beyond its useful life and has to be almost completely replaced not patched.  The second is that the building was not built to upgrade the infrastructure.  It is a fossil.  In fact some of the building is not structurally sound.  It cannot simply be fixed.  I asked specific questions that led me to believe that the design of the renovations will as much as possible allow for updating the salvageable parts of the building and the new construction will be easily reconfigurable as much as practical.  I hope this is right. 

Before the previous proposal I toured Salem High School.  Some of the classrooms are just plain awful and cannot be fixed at a reasonable cost.  In other class space such as the science labs the infrastructure like plumbing and electricity are past their useful life and have to be replaced for safety sake.  The original building is not designed to be upgraded or repaired.  This proposal is designed for future upgrades. 

In my judgment this is the best deal we can expect.  I have read about similar renovations that have cost a lot more.  It is not what I would do.   It may not be what you would do. But I doubt we will ever be presented with a proposal to give us a High School for the next 50 years for any less. 

It is a lot of money.  Despite the claims of the proponents to the contrary, it would no doubt be a great hardship on many residents of Salem.  But not passing this in my judgment would be worse for all especially on the most strapped taxpayers.