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School committee retreat favors 7–12 configuration; formal vote planned in January
Summary
Committee members reported a productive retreat and a straw poll in which all but one participant favored a 7–12 grade configuration. Members emphasized protecting the middle-school experience and plan a formal vote in January after further review and edits to the educational program.
The Salem School Committee’s advisory meeting on the high-school feasibility study heard a recap of a committee retreat where members largely coalesced behind a 7–12 grade configuration. Speaker 5 told the committee that “all but 1 of us gave her a voting tour of 7 to 12,” and the group indicated a formal vote is expected in January.
Committee members said the decision must preserve the middle-school experience. The transcript records concerns raised by "Member Manning," described in the meeting as a longtime principal at Collins, who emphasized protections for middle-school programming and scheduling. Speaker 1 and others echoed the point: the educational program — not the building — should drive decisions about grade configuration, class size, scheduling and student supports.
The consultants and committee described a two-step drafting process: the educational program will be completed first, which will feed the space summary that defines net square footage for classrooms, specialized labs and CTE spaces. Speaker 3 (consultant) warned that the space summary is the key driver of later design and MSBA reimbursement calculations.
Committee members said they will continue deliberations and refinements over the holiday break and plan a formal vote on grade configuration in January, with the educational program circulated in draft form beforehand. The meeting did not record a formal binding vote on configuration during this session.
