The current building was constructed in 1976 for twice as many students as are now enrolled in Salem High School. It has significant systems failures, including HVAC, life safety, electrical, building envelope, and more, making it out of compliance with current building codes. It is extremely energy inefficient, costing the city over $1 million in electricity per year, with heating and cooling systems that are no longer functional. The classrooms are a smaller square footage than state regulations now require, and almost all of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes--which have had the most growth in enrollment over the last decade--are in spaces not intentionally built for them.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) gave the district high marks for the building’s current maintenance standards, despite its out-of-date systems. Maintenance is not the cause of the code problems at Salem High School.

Addition & Renovation: $483m

Full Renovation: $461m

New Construction: $450m (chosen option)

Code Renovation Only: $354m

A code renovation alone will not bring traditional classrooms or Career and Technical learning spaces up to date, will not maximize the building's energy efficiency (SHS accounts for 30% of the City’s combined electricity and gas expenses each year), and will not give the city the opportunity to address traffic issues on Willson St. and Highland Ave.

A no vote for the new high school means the city will not receive the roughly $200M MSBA grant or any money from the MSBA without a reapplication process, which will take the city into 2027 or even 2028. In the meantime, the city will be forced to move ahead with costly code upgrades so that SHS maintains its accreditation.

Yes, but the MSBA has agreed that a new high school is the most appropriate path, so there is a strong possibility it would not approve funding for a code renovation instead. In either case, the reapplication would not be possible for a number of years, pushing the start of construction on the renovation out even further. By that point in time, with construction cost escalation (currently at $.5m per month), the code renovation itself would cost as much or even more than the new construction will cost now.

Without MSBA support, a code renovation will cost Salem taxpayers $354M (compared to the roughly $250M cost to taxpayers for a new building). In order to fund that, the City would bond for $10M-$15M per year for the next three decades. That would mean less capital bonding for other projects like parks, other schools, police and fire vehicles, road and sidewalk repairs, etc. With interest and inflation, a $354M code project phased in over 30 years will cost taxpayers closer to $1 billion. In effect, a no vote will cost Salem taxpayers more and provide Salem students with less.

In February the MSBA will determine the exact amount of the project that the state will fund. Based on preliminary estimates, it’s expected to be in the range of 40%-45% of the project’s costs. That figure will have a large bearing on how much Salem taxpayers will ultimately be responsible for.

Once that number is determined by the MSBA, a tool will be added to www.salemma.gov/salemhighschool so that residents can look up the tax implications for a debt exclusion to construct the new building vs the cost of a City-funded code renovation option.

The Salem High School campus is over 60 acres. The new school will be constructed in the space between the current building and Highland Avenue, where the tennis courts, Salerno Automotive Building, parking, and open space currently exists.

The project proposes constructing a new MIAA-competition grade baseball field, softball field, and lacrosse/soccer field. It will also be the site of a smaller building that will house the automotive program during the school construction and, later, storage for buildings and grounds. Additionally, the Salem Diner - currently at SSU - will be relocated to the site to serve as a concession facility for the athletic fields.

The current timeframe would see groundbreaking in 2028 and completion of the new building for the start of school in September 2030. Demolition of the old building and construction of the athletic fields would follow in 2031-2032.

Yes. One of the advantages of the new construction approach, as opposed to a renovation of the existing building, is that there is no disruption to student learning in the existing school building and no temporary classroom trailers required.

No, in fact, it will improve it. The circulation plan for the new school will have the driveway access closer to the municipal golf course changed into a two-way road and made the primary passenger vehicle entry point for the high school. The driveway closer to Highland Avenue will be only for Horace Mann and for buses. This will move the queuing traffic for Salem High School off of Willson Street and onto the campus driveway instead.