Salem-Keizer School District leaders hope to build a larger home for alternative high school programs in a former bank call center, a major property purchase the school board approved on Tuesday.
The board unanimously signed off on spending $15.5 million to purchase a 15.9 acre Wells Fargo property at 355 Hawthorne Ave S.E.
About half the purchase price will be covered with $7 millon the school district received from the state in May, Superintendent Andrea Castañeda told the board. That money was a revenue adjustment, a state payment made to account for school district enrollment.
The district also expects to recoup about $12 million from being able to sell other older properties that the new building would replace, she said.
The district’s aim is to consolidate alternative education programs, but the specifics of what would be housed there depend on an assessment that’s forthcoming.
District officials said the building would allow them to expand alternative offerings and offer more proactive programs to help students who don’t do well in traditional high schools, rather than waiting for students to get into trouble or struggle academically.
“It gives us a chance to invest in a space that is really worthy of our alternative education students,” Castañeda said.
Currently, the school district has multiple campuses for Roberts High School, its alternative high school. That includes a teen parent program with on-site child care housed on the Chemeketa Community College campus, as well as the program on State Street which is typically for students who are expelled or have disciplinary issues.
“All of our current alternative education programs could be physically housed in this space. There’s also opportunity for us to either expand an existing program or add a program,” said Danielle Neves, assistant superintendent for secondary schools.
The building also has a server room that would let district officials move an existing server complex from the Paulus Administration Center on Southeast Ferry Street, said TJ Crockett, the district’s chief operating officer.
He said the building has over 300 parking spaces and is centrally located. About 3 acres of the site are currently grass, which could allow for more buildings.
Because the building has functioned as a bank call center, he said the security features of the building are similar to what the district would require. The building would need renovations to house students, and Crockett didn’t detail the scope of those or what they might cost.
If they determine the building won’t work well to house students, he said the district’s fallback plan is to consolidate district workers who are currently in leased office spaces around Salem.
“We end up leasing space because we don’t have enough of our own things,” he said.
He said district officials will thoroughly inspect the building prior to closing. They hope to close on the property in November.
Original story below:
A Wells Fargo call center slated for closure could be a new home for alternative education programs in Salem if the Salem-Keizer School Board approves a $15.5 million building purchase on Tuesday.
The board will vote on buying the 15.9-acre property at 355 Hawthorne Ave S.E. that served as a call center and corporate office.
READ IT: School board agenda
Details on the property in the school board’s agenda packet are scant, but any school district use is likely years out.
To participate
The Salem-Keizer School Board meets Tuesday, June 24, at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at 2575 Commercial St. S.E.
Public comment sign-ups closed at 3 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be streamed on CC:Media, channel 21 or on YouTube in English and Spanish and interpreted live in American Sign Language.
Wells Fargo notified the state in December that it intends to close the property and lay off 221 workers late this year.
The building would need renovations to serve as a school site.
It could allow the school district to bring alternative school programs under one roof. Those programs are currently spread across several campuses, including the Roberts High School campus on State Street and other centers around Salem.
The property could be used for other school district needs, including relocating large district servers, district spokeswoman Emily Reverman said.
That could allow the district to sell older property or end leases elsewhere, though district officials are still working out details.
Reverman said it’s too early in the process to estimate what it would cost to renovate the facility or give a timeframe for when it might house students.
If the board approves the purchase, the sale would be contingent on inspection and get a sign-off from school district lawyers.
The board on Tuesday will also vote to accept the results of the May 20 election. Lisa Harnisch was elected to her seat on the board, which she’s held since being appointed last year. Karina Guzmán Ortiz was reelected, and newcomers Jennifer Parker and Mel Fuller also won election.
New school board members take office July 1.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade and is a past president of Oregon’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
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