School officials have agreed to tuition terms that would allow Windham to send its junior and senior classes to Salem High School in the fall when it opens its own high school in 2009.

At the Salem School Board’s meeting on April 22, four members ratified the contract that set a tuition formula for the Windham School District to send two high school classes to Salem High after the opening of its own high school in 2009. School Board member Bernard Campbell was out of town at the time of the meeting, according to Superintendent Michael Delahanty.

Windham’s School Board adopted the tuition agreement at a meeting early this month. The tuition formula for school years 2009-10 and 2010- 11 would revert to prior tuition rates reached in past Authorized Regional Enrollment Area agreements between the school districts.

Last year, both boards agreed to terms that assessed a 5 percent premium on per-pupil costs for Windham students to be sent to Salem High during the 2008- 09 year, due to Windham’s delay of opening its high school. The 5 percent, which is expected to total between $500,000 and $600,000, was meant to go toward high school renovation planning costs that was denied by a 2-1 majority at the polls last month.

Since the renovation was delayed, Delahanty said the new agreement went without the added premium but now allows Salem to keep 12 portable classrooms initially owned by Windham for an indefinite time period.

After last year’s tuition negotiation, Salem was obligated to return the portables to the Windham School District if a renovation plan had not been adopted by 2011, Delahanty said. The portables would have possibly allowed renovations to occur more quickly if voters adopted plans in the future.

“Now with the defeat (of the renovation plans), we thought it best to look at an indefinite timeframe to keeping the portables,” Delahanty said.

The final tuition fees are still to be determined when future operational budgets are made final, but it is expected that Windham will save money between opening its high school with two classes while sending the other two to Salem High School, Delahanty said.