Salem officials outline plan for new Salem High School; voters to decide debt exclusion in 2026

Dominic Pangalo, mayor of Salem and chair of the school committee, and school leaders provided a community update on plans to replace the aging Salem High School and said the building committee unanimously recommended constructing a new facility rather than renovating the existing building.

The project is in the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) pipeline, and city officials said MSBA reimbursement is expected to cover roughly 45 to 55 percent of the total cost. City leaders projected a ballpark cost of about $450 million and said voters will decide a debt-exclusion question in spring 2026 to fund the city’s share.

The building committee’s co-chair, Rick Jones, said the committee considered four approaches required by MSBA — code upgrade, renovation-only, renovation with addition and new construction — and concluded a new building was the best option. “If you’re doing the renovation only scheme, you’re looking at a 48 month process for construction as opposed to new construction, which is gonna be more like 30 months,” Jones said, citing phasing, swing space and cost as principal concerns.

Superintendent Steve…