SALEM SCHOOLS Funds OK'd for athletic complex

The school board approved $780,000 as collateral for the project.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The Salem Athletic Booster Club needs about $422,000 in donations for the first phase of athletic complex construction.
About 200 people attended Monday's board of education meeting in which the board approved $780,000 for the project. Board member Ken Kenst said the school district money is collateral. The boosters want to pay for the project with private donations.
Plans call for the booster club to raise money for the complex and oversee its construction, after which it will be donated to the school district.
The district will pay for maintenance and upkeep.
The facility is being called the SAM Center. SAM is an acronym for Student Activity Multiplex and a reference to the Salem sports mascot, Quaker Sam.
SAM committee members said about $298,000 has been raised so far.
The board voted 4-1 to allow $780,000 from the permanent improvement fund to be used as collateral for the SAM project. Boosters have said they would raise money for the remainder of the project and then continue to raise money to pay back the $780,000.
Opposition to funding
About a dozen people addressed the board during the public-comment portion of the meeting. Most expressed views about funding the SAM project. Those opposed said they were not against athletic programs, but they did not agree with the funding method.
They said it was difficult to see the board approve the $780,000 for an athletic facility when improvements to school buildings are needed, and Salem voters recently defeated an operating levy.
Member Cindy Rottenborn said although she supports athletics and thinks the facility is needed, she could not support funding it with taxpayers' money. She said although the boosters have said they will raise enough money to replace the $780,000, she isn't convinced that will happen.
Boosters have split the project into two phases, with the first expected to cost about $730,000.
The initial phase will entail constructing a weight room, a locker room, a coaches' office and a multipurpose room that can serve as a practice area for wrestlers, baseball players, and other athletic pursuits, including physical education classes.
The space also could be used for nonathletic school events.
The project's second phase would cost about $770,000 and consist of building an auxiliary gymnasium to accommodate the numerous team practice schedules that are constantly juggled.
More locker rooms and equipment storage space also would be included.
tullis@vindy.com