The Walter F. Haigh Elementary School is here to stay.

The School Board voted 4-1 on Oct. 20 to keep the 55-year-old building open and pursue a master facilities plan incorporating all six elementary schools in Salem. The move came after Haigh parents lobbied board members to save the neighborhood school during two public forums earlier this month.

For Annette Carroll, one of several Haigh parents in attendance, the news came as a welcome sigh of relief. The mother of two said she was worried the board would close Haigh and had encouraged fellow parents to come out and show their support.

“I think (the decision) was fantastic,” Carroll said. “Haigh is a great school. We all know each other and the teachers. We were just there making scarecrows a few hours ago … We want the school to stay.”

Haigh was put on the chopping block after officials looked at developing a master plan for renovating the district’s elementary schools. Early estimates had Salem saving more than $1.5 million in one-time construction costs and annual operational costs by closing Haigh.

But board member Peter Morgan argued that the building needs at least $450,000 in renovations anyway unless the district plans to sell it off.

Even if the school was closed, Salem would still pay some heating and electrical bills on Haigh as well as transportation costs associated with busing those students elsewhere, he said. Higher student populations in other elementary schools would also put a strain on classroom space and staff, Morgan said.

“By the time I’m done with this, what I’m going to save the taxpayers by going to five schools is on the order of less than $1 a month for a person that owns a $300,000 home,” he said. “It’s not a cost issue, it’s a cost-effective issue.”

The lone dissenting voice on the board, Bernard Campbell, said he voted against saving Haigh not out of wanting to do away with the school, but because the building could be left as is and used for something other than an elementary school.

With Haigh’s future secure, the question remaining for school officials is whether to place a warrant article funding some portion of the roughly $35 million master plan on the March ballot. That should be decided in November, superintendent Michael Delahanty said.