A Cautious 'Yes'

On Wednesday, for the second time in as many years, East Hampton School District's taxpayers will decide whether to raise taxes for a multimillion-dollar construction project at one of its three schools. The vote is on a bond issue of $4.8 million to expand and renovate East Hampton High School and whether to transfer $500,000 available in a reserved capital fund to the project.

Approval on Wednesday could mean an increase of about $52 a year in taxes for an East Hampton homeowner whose property is assessed at $7,000. With the $50 increase from the John Marshall Elementary School expansion, approved in March 1995, and the $73.50 increase for the current operating budget tax hikes would total about $185 for the two-year period, according to the East Hampton District's business office.

School officials say the high school needs eight classrooms, mostly for science, plus new bathrooms. Enrollment, which is at 765 this year, is expected to top 930 by 2001. The district also says that its science equipment, now more than 25 years old, is badly in need of updating . The science equipment and other furnishings carry a hefty price tag - $938,000.

East Hampton High School was built in 1970 to accommodate roughly 1,000 students. New programs in intervening years, including special education, English as a second language, vocational offerings, and a computer laboratory, have placed unanticipated demands on the facility. Academic programs mandated by the state, such as additional math and science required since 1984, also require more classroom space.

It is unfortunate that public discussion of the $5.3-million plan has been limited to a series of presentations this month to school and civic groups - and a single informational forum on Monday. Noel McStay, the East Hampton District Superintendent, has admitted concern about the outcome of the vote, noting that the referendum on the John Marshall expansion passed by a mere 11 votes. "The less controversy, the better," he commented recently, however.

Controversy, such as exists, has centered not so much on the pro ject's need, but on its cost, the lion's share of which, according to Thomas and Associates, the same architects who designed the John Marshall School project, will go for construction ($2 million), renovation ($900,000), and furnishings and equipment. And, some are finding the $938,000 allotted for the sciences and furnishings hard to understand.

But East Hampton foresees before too long the possibility of having to rent portable classroms, consider split sessions, or raise class sizes, already at about 25 in some cases. These are not desirable solutions to overcrowding.

At a public forum for East Hampton Town's young people last week, the high school project came up among a myriad of topics. Several characterized the high school as "very crowded," saying it already was hard to fight your way through the freshman hallway.

"We also need the science rooms to keep East Hampton kids competitive," said one.

Demonstrated need for more space calls for a "yes" vote. The only caveat is that the district must keep a much closer watch over the design, inside and out, and over contracting and subcontracting than at the elementary school, where construction was somewhat delayed and driveway and access problems have yet to be corrected.