Mainly Support for School Renovations at Annual Deliberative

About 200 residents came out for Salem's annual school deliberative session on Feb. 7, with voters mostly expressing support for the warrant articles that will go on this year's ballot.

According to Salem School Board member Peter Morgan, the meeting breezed by relatively quickly, adjourning at 8:30 p.m. after a 7 p.m. start.

The event took place in the Salem High School auditorium and was competing with a casino forum at Rockingham Park and a meeting of the Salem GOP.

Arguably the most notable article on the ballot this year is no. 2, which calls for $16,205,153 for additions and improvements to Fisk and Soule Schools along with renovations and repairs to Haigh School.

Morgan said Article 2 got moved to the warrant "essentially with no discussion from the audience."

Several residents stood up to talk about Article 3, which is an additional $805,237 bond article for Haigh School to fund HVAC renovations.

Selectman Stephen Campbell stood up in opposition of the article, noting declining enrollments and the fact that additional money is not worth it given the possibility of the school closing in the future.

Sherry Kilgus-Kramer, founder and president of the "Strengthen our Schools" community activist group, noted that the HVAC system and other renovations are important because there will still be students in the school for the next few years.

Other residents supported the article, saying that the improvements will be needed no matter what the building is used for in the future.

Morgan said that the most extensive presentation came during Article 4, which holds the proposed operating budget, which totals $62,247,816.

"The school board did not ask for any restoration of funds to (the article) because the Budget Committee did a very fair job in putting it together," Morgan said.

According to Morgan, the budget tax increase presented was just over 18 cents per thousand and the percentage on it was 1.43 percent higher than last year.

One petition also will appear on the March ballot, asking if voters will vote to raise and appropriate $679,800 toward a full-sized multi-purpose room at Soule School.

Morgan said that the extra money would make the gym larger for community use.

"This is a one-time tax impact and it would cost about $53 for a $300,000 home," he said. "It would be a regulation-size gym with room for spectators. There are bleacers that will be put in there."

The school board decided in previous deliberations that the article would not be included in Article 2 and instead would need to be taken up as a petition. Morgan said the board concluded last year that "minimal education requirements" should be asked for on warrant articles.

The board couldn't justify a basketball court as part of those minimum education requirements, but Morgan is happy to see that residents were able to put together a petition.

"There are at least 25 registered Salem voters who think basketball and big gyms are important – now we're hoping there's a whole bunch more," Morgan said.

Morgan presented Article 5 to the town, which moved through without much discussion an is related to a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the school board and the Salem Educational Support Personnel Association.

The article calls for $72,232, or a 1.25 percent wage scale increase attributed to what is required in the new agreement.

No amendments were proposed my residents or school board members during the meeting.