Education

"We're in such a better place," said Adam Fine, the assistant superintendent of the East Hampton School District, summing up the progress since the beginning of the pandemic. As Covid cases taper down and outdoor celebrations start to ramp up, signs that we're turning a corner in the pandemic are everywhere in local schools — and gratefully so, administrators and students say.

The Amagansett School District will officially add a new bus stop at the Gansett Meadow housing complex starting in September after at least 25 local residents signed a petition that led the district to analyze student safety in that area.

Top-level shuffles continued this week in the East Hampton School District.

The announcement on Tuesday of East Hampton High School's valedictorian and salutatorian also signaled that the school district is in the thick of plans for end-of-year commencement ceremonies.

Three seats are up for grabs on the Bridgehampton School Board this year, with five candidates in the running to serve starting in July 2021 for three-year terms. The candidates are Ron White, Dwight E. Singleton, Jo Ann Comfort, Angela Chmielewski, and Michael Gomberg. Lillian Tyree-Johnson and Doug DeGroot, two longtime board members, are not seeking re-election.

Voters must be U.S. citizens ages 18 or older and must be residents of their respective school districts for at least 30 days before the election.

On Saturday, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital will host a car seat safety check from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 330 Meeting House Lane.

Students at the John M. Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton are raising money for wellness initiatives and the school's Hometown Heroes program through a dance-a-thon. Children are collecting pledges from family members, friends, neighbors, and businesses in exchange for a promise to dance their hearts out on Tuesday, when all gym classes will be dedicated to the fund-raiser.

Art for Kids and Teens

The next installment of the children's story-and-art collaboration between Guild Hall and the East Hampton Library is Monday at 3:30 p.m. The free program is ideal for kids ages 3 and up. Monday's story is "Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature" by Joyce Sidman, followed by watercolor painting.

On Tuesday, teens are invited to a drop-in upcycled fashion workshop at Guild Hall, in person, with Jade Ford-Jathan. The free workshop is from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sign-up for both programs is online at guildhall.org.

Officials at Sagaponack's little red schoolhouse are asking district voters to greenlight a proposed budget of $1.73 million, which despite having a year-over-year spending increase of just $27,572 is above the New York State cap on tax-levy increases.

With a $20.66 million budget proposal for the 2021-22 school year, the Bridgehampton School District is seeking voter approval to override the state-imposed cap on tax-levy increases for the third time since the tax cap law was established 10 years ago. For it to pass on May 18, the district will need at least 60 percent of voters to say "yes" to the budget plan.

Josh Odom, currently the English department coordinator at East Hampton High School, has been hired as the assistant principal of the Springs School, effective July 1. He succeeds Maria Mondini, herself a former East Hampton High School assistant principal, who came out of retirement to help out at Springs during the pandemic.

The curtain rises Saturday on East Hampton High School's annual musical theater production, which is likely to be memorable for more reasons than one.

After receiving word from its construction manager and architect that the expansion and renovation project are proceeding well, the Springs School Board decided to capitalize on what will be newly freed-up space at the Springs Youth Association building behind the school next year to re-establish a prekindergarten program on campus.

The East Hampton School District's proposed 2021-22 budget reflects "normal fluctuations" in spending along with planning for the future, a senior school official said yesterday. East Hampton district voters will see a $75.16 million spending plan on the May 18 ballot that also considers the possible continuation of Covid-related needs.

Next up in Bay Street Theater's weekly online story times is Linsey Davis, author of the children's book "Stay This Way Forever," on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Filled with playful rhymes, the book is aimed at helping children discover their own unique qualities. The cost is $15 and tickets can be bought online at baystreet.org.

The Sag Harbor School District adopted its $44.87 million budget for 2021-22 in a quick virtual meeting last week that did not require the board's further discussion of the spending plan, which is under the tax cap for the 10th year in a row.

"It seems like we're in a very good place right now," Barbara Dayton, the Springs School Board president, said on Monday just before she and her colleagues voted to put a $30.8 million budget proposal on the May 18 school ballot for the 2021-22 academic year.

Saturday marks the launch of Suffolk's Stop-Arm Camera Program, which will outfit fleets of school buses across the county with technology to enforce a law commonly violated by drivers: that they stop for stopped school buses with flashing lights.

On the May 18 ballot for the Wainscott School District, voters will see a $3,829,017 spending plan that stays within the state-mandated limit on tax-levy increases. The district's tax-cap compliance comes on the heels of two prior years of over-the-cap budgets.

On May 18, East Hampton School District voters will have a chance to weigh in on a $75.16 million spending plan for the 2021-22 school year. The school board voted Tuesday night to adopt that budget, which carries a year-over-year spending increase of $1.28 million.

The associated tax-levy increase is within state limits at 2.87 percent, which is the maximum amount East Hampton could institute while still only needing a simple majority of voter approval.

On the Amagansett School's budget ballot in May will be an $11.9 million spending plan, up 4.7 percent from the current year, plus two  propositions, one seeking voter approval to use $150,000 from a reserve account to renovate the outdoor basketball courts; the other asking for permission to create a new reserve account dedicated to technology and energy upgrades.

Twenty-one senior educators have applied for the superintendent's post in the Bridgehampton School District, its school board confirmed last week. The number of applicants represents an increase of 20 candidates from the district's last superintendent selection process in 2017 and 2018, for which an open search was not conducted.

The Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services is coordinating the search for the district, having posted the job on March 1 and closed the application period on March 26.

The East Hampton School Board on Tuesday signed on to a joint agreement among a dozen public school districts for legal representation in an asbestos-related lawsuit. The district will employ Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard, and Smith L.L.P. at a rate that breaks down to less than $20 per hour per district.

To celebrate Earth Day, children at the John M. Marshall Elementary School decorated paper bags that will be distributed to customers of Mary's Marvelous and Stop and Shop today. The students were taught about the importance of community service in the process.

"Kids made the bags to make our East Hampton community aware of Earth Day and hopefully encourage people to do something to help our Earth," said Karen Kuneth, the school's principal.

Golden Eagle Once More

Youth art classes have officially returned at the Golden Eagle art supply store in East Hampton after a pandemic-related hiatus. Snap School, a cellphone photography workshop for kids ages 12 and up, runs Saturday mornings in May starting May 8 via Zoom and continues in June in person in the store's art barn. The cost is $295.

East Hampton High School's Justice League club is acknowledging definite victories during uncertain times in a new initiative celebrating students and "bringing out their best."

The Montauk School District will present voters with a $20.59 million budget plan for the 2021-22 school year that shows an overall drop in spending and the smallest tax-levy increase in the region. The school board voted unanimously to adopt the proposal on April 13.

Five candidates are seeking three seats on the Bridgehampton School Board and two candidates are vying for one seat on the Springs School Board this spring in the only two locally contested races. The vote is on May 18.

Shay Siegel and Mai Ismail have something in common: writing poetry. Ms. Siegel is a young-adult author and Mai is a high school student who hopes someday to publish her work, but they both use poetry as an outlet for expressing emotions that can often be difficult.