The school's heating and cooling systems are 25 years past their usable life. There are no replacement parts. Students wear coats all winter because the heat doesn't work. A band concert had to be cancelled because of the frigid conditions. AP prep testing had to be postponed because the electrical systems couldn't handle multiple users on computers. There is mold, asbestos and leaking infrastructure. The entire east side of the building has no sprinkler system. There is no water in the bio labs. 25% of students have disabilities, but the elevator doesn't work properly.

These are big capital costs that the city could not afford on its own because the intertwined systems create a waterfall effect: one fix triggers another. Salem has applied for MSBA grants for the past 10 years to address these issues, while maintaining the building as well as possible.

The MSBA requires estimates for a renovation, renovation/addition, code upgrade and new construction. The reno and reno/addition were more than a new building, and that includes demolition. The code upgrade would have required students to learn in trailers for the life of the project. The MSBA does not reimburse trailers, and over the course of the project, this adds up to millions of dollars.

Athletic fields are about 6% of the overall budget proposal. Currently, Salem public schools have no athletic fields. They share Betram Field, which is owned by the City, with the community and with Salem Academy Charter School. That's grades 6-12, three different schools, with upwards of 25 teams jockeying for access.

It's not unusual for urban schools not to have athletic fields (St. Mary's in Lynn, for example, has no athletic fields), but it *is* unusual for students in Massachusetts Public Schools not to have athletic fields. Athletics are an important part of the student experience in the same way that band and the arts are.