Salem Public Schools leaders told the school committee on Nov. 3 that the district faces a projected $4.5 million to $5.0 million gap and recommended exploring elementary-school mergers as one strategy to stabilize finances.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Elizabeth Pauley said most district costs are people-related — about 75–80% of the budget — while rising utilities, transportation and out-of-district special-education placements have outpaced state funding increases. Pauley said two-thirds of local K–12 funding comes from the City of Salem and that the Chapter 70 formula and the Student Opportunity Act have produced funding dynamics that leave gateway cities like Salem with a growing local share of school costs.

Faced with the shortfall, the district and outside consultants proposed four reconfiguration scenarios that pair and repurpose elementary buildings. The recommended options would merge combinations of Saltonstall, Horace Mann, Carleton (sometimes referred to in the presentation as Carlton), and Bentley and might repurpose buildings for early-childhood programming or other educational uses. District leaders said the recommendations reflect excess capacity — roughly 200 empty classroom seats and an estimated 1,300 additional seats in non-classroom spaces districtwide — and the goal of concentrating resources on fewer buildings to preserve programs.

Superintendent (referred to in the transcript as “Doctor Zak”) and the administration stressed program protections. Pauley said the district intends to maintain innovation and dual-language models: “We’re committed to those models. Those are innovation plans…people have told us loud and clear they want for their children,” and she added that individualized legal services tied to IEPs and 504 plans would continue under any merger.

But the bulk of the evening was public comment, and speakers across affected schools pressed for additional analysis and a slower timeline. Erica Clifford, president of the Horace Mann Parent Teacher Committee, asked the committee not to vote on any merger at Horace Mann until the district completes an updated site-specific study covering traffic design, construction staging and operational planning. Clifford said Horace Mann currently serves roughly 318 students and that merger scenarios could bring enrollment to about 568–590 students, creating safety and operational challenges during nearby high-school construction: “If the campus is expected to support nearly 600 elementary students while simultaneously functioning as an active construction zone for several years, traffic isn’t a footnote. It becomes a core operational and safety issue.”

Several speakers raised similar concerns about traffic and daily logistics. Wilma Avila described losing a job because of extended daily commuting tied to staggered school start times and urged infrastructure or scheduling fixes, including an additional entrance on Highland Avenue. Multiple commenters asked that the district examine bus routing, parent drop-off, start and end times, and construction staging before consolidating campuses.

Parents and staff also warned of risks to special-education and specialized-program capacity if schools grow much larger. Rachel Ellison, a STRIDE teacher, recounted past room repurposings that reduced access to individualized bathroom and therapy spaces and said STRIDE classrooms use specialized equipment and break spaces that occupy more physical space than a simple per-student count suggests. “If there are more students added to our building, there’s gonna be a greater need for that bathroom and I’m worried about the time off learning if there are lines,” Ellison said.

Other public commenters pressed procedural and planning questions. Jared D’Amico urged better engagement and a delay for additional deliberation, calling for a reconfiguration work group of parents and educators and asking the committee to hold another public meeting after Dec. 1 so the community can respond to any committee deliberations. Ted Burnham and other speakers asked how much of the structural deficit reconfiguration can realistically close and requested clearer modeling tying mergers to long-term district priorities, such as expansion of early-childhood care, dual-language programs and innovation models.

A different line of concern came from longtime resident Ray Jurislow, who said planning for the new high school has not yet addressed radon testing or mitigation and urged the city and school committee to add radon planning now rather than pay to retrofit mitigation later. Jurislow cited EPA guidance and a state green-schools report recommending radon consideration in new construction.

District leaders acknowledged uncertainties: Pauley said the gap estimate could change depending on rebids of major contracts, including the transportation contract, and on final Chapter 70 allocations. Superintendent remarks emphasized that any merger would require intentional transition planning, a team to oversee implementation, extra first-year resources and monitoring by the school committee.

The committee did not deliberate publicly on a final action at the Nov. 3 meeting. Member Crews moved to adjourn at the close of public comment; the motion, seconded by Member Cornell, carried.

What happens next: the administration said committee discussions and additional information will continue in upcoming meetings (noted on the schedule as the Monday after Thanksgiving and Dec. 15), and the district directed stakeholders to salemk12.org/reconfiguration and reconfiguration@salemk12.org for materials and comments.

Vote at a glance: the only formal motion recorded in the transcript was to adjourn; no votes on reconfiguration options were held.