School board to consider selling empty Lake Labish, Fruitland school buildings
Salem-Keizer School District leaders are planning to sell two empty rural schools and an administrative building as part of an ongoing effort to get rid of buildings no longer needed for school use.
The district school board will learn more about the sales at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10, and take an initial vote on moving forward. The board would have to sign off on listing the properties for sale at a later meeting.
The schools are:
- Fruitland, 6425 Fruitland Rd. N.E.
- Lake Labish, 7495 Portland Rd N.E.
Both buildings are more than a century old.
Fruitland was built in 1889 and came into the district in 1964 as part of a school consolidation. The school had 68 students at the time, the Capital Journal reported. The 1.3 acre property is valued at $1 million, according to country records.
Lake Labish is a 4.8 acre property valued at $1.7 million, county property records show.
The district school board voted to close both schools in 2011 as part of a round of budget cuts. Most recently, they housed Behavior Intervention Centers — programs for students to get intensive help with behavior.
In early February, students in those programs moved to Straub Middle School. The West Salem school is now home to a Behavioral Health Center, which has more space for students. About 17 students are currently part of the program, with five more expected in the coming weeks, district spokesman Aaron Harada said.
Also up for potential sale is the Paulus Administration Center, just outside downtown Salem at 1309 Ferry St. S.E. The building houses the district’s data center. Until late 2025, it was home to a variety of support workers, including language and translation, graphics and people supporting federal education programs.
Those workers have since moved to other district offices, primarily to the Student and Family Services building in southeast Salem, Harada said.
The data center will be moved by early 2027 to the former Wells Fargo call center that the school district purchased for $15.5 million last year.
District leaders told school board members that they wanted to purchase the building in part because it was set up with a server room that could easily house the data center.
The Wells Fargo center is eventually intended to house the district’s alternative education programs, though a substantial renovation will be required before it’s able to do so.
Superintendent Andrea Castañeda told the board last year that the district expects to earn about $12 million by selling older properties the Wells Fargo center would replace.
County records show the Paulus property is valued at $5.9 million.
Harada said the district won’t set an asking price for the three buildings until the school board approves their sale.
Contact Managing Editor 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 over 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.
