To the editor:

I am voting in favor the Salem School Levy and I urge other voters to vote YES on the Salem City School District Bond Issue and Tax Levy.

The combination of a state grant and the Salem Community Foundation’s generous $10 million commitment toward the local share of the bond is a fabulous deal for property owners and an historic gift to Salem school-age children for generations to come.

Now is the time for us to show our support for Salem’s children by voting YES for the school levy on the November ballot.

Our elder son had positive educational experiences at Reilly and Southeast schools in the 1990s. But at that point Reilly was an old building with quirky heating and plumbing systems and drafty windows. Though newer, students and staff at Southeast dealt with inadequate classroom space. Now, 30 years later we have the chance with our YES votes to ensure Salem’s elementary-school-age children have the opportunity to learn in a modern elementary school facility.

As an education writer I have seen the positive effects of up-to-date facilities on teaching and learning. In the 1920s when Reilly was built, in the 1940s when Buckeye was built, and in the 1960s when Southeast School was built, Salem voters understood the importance of providing new schools for children. It is time for us all to step up and do the same for Salem’s children in 2023.

Please vote yes on the Salem City School District Bond Issue and Tax Levy..

​​​​​​​Sincerely,

​​​​​​​Madeline Patton Shivers (SHS 77)

Dr Joseph Shivers (SHS 66),

Joseph (SHS 06),

Brian (SHS 09)

​​​​​​​Salem

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To the editor:

I have spent 45 years as a teacher in the Salem Schools with the last 35 at Buckeye. Most of those years were in a kindergarten classroom, but more recently, I am teaching art. A total of about 37,800 hours of my life (180 days x 6 hours x 35 years) have been spent within the walls of Buckeye and I can truly say, I have enjoyed every minute of all those hours.

Buckeye will always have a special place in my heart. In fact, it would be hard to find anyone more qualified to speak about the benefits and challenges facing our students and staff. Great things do happen each day at Buckeye and the students there are loved, nurtured, encouraged, and learning happens in every nook and cranny but, the time has come to replace Buckeye with something newer and better equipped to meet the needs of Salem’s youngest learners. Buckeye faces daily challenges of lack of space, plumbing issues, a leaky roof, not enough restroom facilities, and no room for art, music, or library classrooms.

It is so important to provide a strong foundation for future learning and success. This essential framework is built at Buckeye with our youngest learners. The 450ish students who enter the doors each morning fill every room and available space in the building. In fact, right now the library, art, and music spaces are being used as classrooms. This means that students have no access to the amazing world of literature and students experience music and art classes from the top of a rolling cart.

As the art teacher, I push one of those moving cart classrooms. I like to think I am providing my students with a good art educational experience, but the cart and the lack of a dedicated space for the arts certainly limits the type of projects and materials the students can use. Art and music on a cart is a good learning experience for kids but it could become so much better in a regular art or music classroom filled with all the tools needed to truly experience the fine arts.

It is our responsibility as concerned citizens and those who love our Salem kids to change that soy bean field on the southeast side of town into an school environment that will provide our students with the most up to date, safe, and attractive learning environment possible. Please vote “YES’ for our kids on November 7th!

Thank you for your support,

Mindy Hiltbrand,

​​​​​​​Salem

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To the editor:

The Salem Junior Mothers’ Club would like to provide an official endorsement for the upcoming Salem school levy to build a new K-8 campus. We are celebrating our 70th year of raising money through various projects to support local groups with the interest of children and those who support children as a priority.

Safety is always on parents’ minds when our children are not with us. Schools throughout the country have been faced with acts of violence on school property. Security considerations can be integrated in the design and build of a new school rather than trying to implement these measures in old structures that were built in a time when serious security measures were not required. Another benefit of a new school would be for the school resource officer, who would only need to split their time between two schools instead of four which would enable them to respond to emergencies immediately.

If you have children in more than one school like many of our members do, you know what a nightmare drop off and pick up can be. A new building would eliminate the need to rush from one school to the next to make it there on time. Bussing would be more efficient with only needing to pick up and drop off at two locations instead of four.

The children in the Salem City School district deserve the very best when it comes to learning. These schools were not built for the capacity we are at today. As moms of children in the district, we know first hand that Buckeye Elementary School, which holds kindergarten through second grade, has no more available space.

Educators are having to share classrooms. Art, music, and library are all held in each classroom. The teachers have to travel around the school with carts full of items needed for each class. When gym is done at the end of the second nine weeks, the students will only leave their classrooms for lunch/recess and restroom breaks. The students are stuck in the same four walls for the majority of their school day. A change of scenery can break up the monotony and allow for a reset. A new school will give the kids and staff more space to move about which is important for the mind and body.

Thank you for taking the time to consider voting yes for our kids. We may never again get this amount of state and local financial support so now is the time to act! Regards,

Salem Junior Mothers’ Club,

Kerri Ackler, Christi Arnoto, Chelsea Barrett,

Beckie Brown, Shannon Cranmer, Jayme Crowell,

Tricia DeBarr, Autumn Dunn, Karah Fithian

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To the editor:

Irvin Tice and his sister Mary (Tice) Martin were the first Tice’s to graduate from the Salem school district, but he missed his graduation day. He, along with other Salem classmates, had a row of empty chairs at the graduation ceremony as an honor, for they had already enlisted in the armed forces and were off to boot camps to try and help the United States win WWII.

Irvin would serve with the US Army in Europe, when he returned he would use the GI bill to attend college, finally returning home to Salem to start a chiropractic practice and raise his family.

Four generations later, the Tice family still has members walking the halls of Salem schools. Irvin may have been the first to experience it, but many family members have realized as well that the world can be an exciting and interesting place to head into, but when it’s time to raise a family, there’s no place like returning home to Salem.

You don’t realize how great Salem is until you are old enough to have a mortgage, for in Salem you can afford a house with a yard. Your commute to the grocery is five minutes. You have world class community organizations like the Salem Community Foundation and Salem Alumni Association. You have nice parks, hospitals, and a beautiful library. You have a community center usually only found in high-end suburbs. You even have a Starbucks and two Dunkins! The only drawback is…the schools are really old.

As the issue of a new school has come up as a topic of conversation among friends and neighbors, we have joked “Our kids are going to a school named after a Civil War General

­– probably time for new school.” As a family we love the Salem School District: the teachers, coaches, and administration have always cared and helped our family to be successful.

The school buildings however, as cherished as they are, we believe are on their last legs. We also believe the taxman will come regardless, either a new school will be built or major/constant repairs will be done to three olds schools. So, as a Salem school generational family, we urge every Salem resident to think about the opportunity in front of them and make our town and school district as strong as possible for our future generations. Thank you, Go Quakers, and pass the school levy!!

Brent (Class of ’74) and Cheryl Tice

Trent (Class of ’99) and Kristen Tice

Tricia (Class of ’02) and Daric Barkee

Troy Tice (Class of ’02)

Taven (Class of 2030), Taryn (Class of 2032), and Tory (Class of 2035) Tice

In memoriam: Dr. Irvin D. Tice (Class of ’43)