SALISBURY — After months of deliberation, the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education’s Capital Needs Committee is returning with specific recommendations that, according to the board’s online agenda, include developing a plan to potentially close, consolidate or rebuild 11 district schools.

The presentation will be an information item at the board’s Monday meeting, which means the board will not vote or take any action on the issue but merely listen. Board members will discuss the recommendations and may choose to reject them entirely.

Stephanie Walker, a capital needs committee member and Rockwell alderwoman, said the recommendations are not final.

“We’re not actually making any hard-core recommendations to the board,” she said. “We’re kind of compiling data and giving it to the board.”

The committee was formed in February, and its members include Rowan County residents and community leaders. Those who have spoken at or attended at least one committee meeting include Aaron Church, Leslie Heidrick, Andrew Smith, Superintendent Lynn Moody, Angie Miller, Mark Soeth, Anthony Vann, Meredith Honeycutt, Barbara Mallett, Mike Caskey, Bill Feather, Nick Adkins, Brian Brady, Preston Wallace, Carl Martin, Rob Robertson, Carol Everhart, Robin Shoe, Carol Herndon, Stephanie Walker, Charles Moody, Jr., Tammy Corpening, Chris Boardman, Tim Dixon, Christopher Nuckolls, Timothy Pharr, Danny Gabriel, Tommy Garver, Darrell Hinnant, Travis Allen, Dean Hunter, Don Coggins, Elaine Spalding, Ellen Howard, Eric Nianouris, Gary A. Blabon, Jason Walser, Jennifer Barbee, Jim Greene, Mayor Karen Alexander, Kay Wright Norman, Kelly Sparger, Kevin Jones and Lee Withers.

“I truly appreciate the hard work and dedication of this committee,” board Chairman Josh Wagner said in an email. “Like our board, they were faced with a daunting task. They have done a great job of analyzing all information and giving us a system snapshot of current needs.

According to Assistant Superintendent Anthony Vann, the committee was given the job of coming up with a solution to the district’s more than $200 million in capital needs, along with pertinent information about school system budget, condition of school buildings, enrollment predictions and other factors.

From there, committee members deliberated and came to their own conclusions.

According to the board’s online agenda, the committee also considered outside factors such as shrinking state and federal funding for schools, growing funding rigidity and whether the district can afford to continue operating 35 schools.

Its findings? The district cannot do so.

“Something has to be done. There’s no easy choice and no easy decision,” board member Travis Allen said.

Allen was one of the board members who attended Capital Needs Committee meetings.

The committee began to look at individual schools, considering building age and condition, energy use, the number of repairs needed, capacity versus actual enrollment, class size, recent upgrades and distance from other schools.

Committee members made their decision blind — looking solely at data, and not the specific names of schools, board member Dean Hunter said.

If a school fell short on five or more of those criteria, it was flagged by the committee. In the end, six elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools “rose to the top” with more needs than others: Overton, Mount Ulla, Hurley, Morgan, Granite Quarry and Faith elementaries; China Grove, Corriher-Lipe and Knox middle schools; and North Rowan and Henderson high schools.

But that doesn’t mean the committee is recommending them for closure.

“We’re not necessarily saying those schools are definitely on the chopping block,” Walker said.

Instead, Walker said, those schools are under “preliminary consideration.”

“It’s not ironclad,” she said.

According to the agenda, the committee recommends a one- to five-year plan to close or consolidate 11 schools while leveraging existing facilities and building new ones and to redistrict as needed.

“We’ve got everything on the table,” Walker said. “… Those are all avenues we want the board to consider.”

Hunter said the committee also looked at other options, such as school bonds.

“Closure or consolidation are not the only options,” he said.

Wagner said he appreciates the long-term scope of the recommendations.

“The fact that they are recommending a one- to five-year plan makes a lot of sense,” he wrote. “This gives the board the opportunity to further evaluate the needs, talk with community members, survey future changes in the economy and population, and partner with elected county officials regarding funding.”

Wagner said he personally thinks the best move would be something similar to the upcoming merger of Cleveland and Woodleaf elementaries — where two older, smaller schools are consolidated into a single, new facility.

“This helps keep community schools throughout the county while also improving aging facilities,” he said.

It would also benefit the community as a whole in the long run.

“Bottom line, elected officials have a responsibility to identify need. Furthermore, we must address that need in a way that benefits the system and the taxpayers,” he said. “I believe we can reduce capital overhead so that current tax money more adequately meets the needs. I want us to streamline capital costs while also not asking taxpayers to give more money. This can truly be a win-win.”

But board members know there are going to be some tough days and decisions ahead of them.

“No one wants their school to be closed, but as board members we have to look at the bigger picture,” Allen said.

The Board of Education will meet at 4 p.m. Monday in the Wallace Educational Forum board room, 500 N. Main St. The meeting will begin with a closed session. Celebrations will be at 5 p.m. and public comment, at 6 p.m.

This will be the board’s only meeting for the month of November.