Final Push For Salem High School Tax Override As Citywide Vote Looms

SALEM, MA — The Salem School Building Committee and city officials will host a pair of information sessions next week as a citywide vote looms on a $239 million debt exclusion tax override for a new Salem High School building.

The two sessions are set for April 20 and April 26 ahead of the May 5 vote.

The School Building Committee will host the two online presentations followed by question-and-answer sessions each day. The same presentation will be made at both sessions, with Spanish and Portuguese translations available.

Both sessions are set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. with links available here.

The May 5 vote will ask residents to foot the bill for about $239 million of the $447 million cost of a new school, which officials said is needed to replace the 50-year-old building that is becoming obsolete and is energy deficient, and they said will cost more in capital improvements to keep up to code over the next two decades than it will take to build a new state of-the-art building now.

• Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo Campaigns For New High School In Inaugural Address

Some critics of the project have raised concerns about the 30-year term of the debt exclusion that will extend up to a dozen years after those currently entering kindergarten will have graduated from high school.

Other concerns include worries that the debt exclusion is calculated as a direct percentage of a home's assessed value, and because of that, the annual cost to property owners is likely to rise over time, which could have an adverse effect on home ownership, as well as rental properties.

According to the city, based on the average median home value of $590,000, the tax bill would go up $710 per year to cover the costs of the override. Officials say the cost of deferred repairs and other energy costs to maintain the current building to residents would actually be more over time.

The median increase for commercial property over the 30 years of debt payments is $1,233 per year, according to the city.

A "yes" vote would see tax increases begin in 2028.

"I truly believe a new school is not only better for our students but makes life better for our entire community," Salem Mayor Domonick Pangallo told Patch in an interview this past fall. "The high school is a flagship for the entire community, and right now our high school is not living up to that for us."

Pangallo told Patch that the school was built in 1976 and "almost immediately needed upgrades and repairs."

"It hasn't gotten any better," he said.

Pangallo last week proposed a property tax relief package that would expand assistance for seniors, low-income residents, and individuals with disabilities through changes to the city property tax referral program, an increase in the senior tax work-off benefit, and the creation of a new Taxpayer Aid Fund.

Pangallo said the changes proposed to the City Council build on the city's existing 17 property tax relief programs.

"The timing of this proposal complements our ongoing efforts to reduce the local cost impacts for the new high school project," Pangallo said. "The Building Committee has already made design and building choices that have reduced that project's cost by $242 million, and other measures are being proposed to shift more of the local cost from taxpayers to tourists.

"Combined with today's property tax relief proposal, we're taking positive actions to address the affordability challenges in our community and ensure we can advance the high school project in as thoughtfully and fiscally responsible a manner as possible."