East Hampton Considers Its Own School Bus Depot

The East Hampton School District is considering building a bus depot on the high school’s grounds, with Isabel Madison, the assistant superintendent for business, and Rich Burns, the superintendent, having presented preliminary numbers at a school board meeting on Oct. 20 and saying it would ultimately save money.

The district now leases a bus depot and maintenance garage at privately owned commercial property on Route 114. Under the contract, which goes through October of 2017, the annual cost is $103,000. The administrators said the district could build its own facility for about $4.75 million, borrowing the money and repaying it over 20 years by transfering money from its capital fund. The money that would have been spent on leasing a bus depot could be saved or applied elsewhere in the budget.

“We have considered very seriously not to have the taxpayers have any increase in the tax rate,” Ms. Madison said. “The bottom line would not change . . . and by the time you get to year 20, you practically will have acquired this building for zero money,” she said, apparently referring to the money saved on leasing over the years.

Having a bus depot and maintenance facility on school property would yield at least two more benefits, Mr. Burns said. One is the possibility of related educational programs on campus, such as auto repair, marine mechanics, and welding. He said having courses of this kind in East Hampton would cut down on the cost of tuition and transportation to the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services in Riverhead. This year there are as many as 12 students in the BOCES program.

“Would I love to have these programs here for our kids?” Mr. Burns said. “We can get our kids career ready in really viable programs. They can have more periods a day because three or four periods were consumed by the program.”

Another potential benefit, he said, is the possibility of revenue from the Springs and Amagansett School Districts, which send their buses to the Southampton School District for repairs and maintenance, but might find an East Hampton facility more convenient. Mr. Burns noted that driving time and bus mileage would be saved by having a bus depot at the high school.

Issuing approximately $4.75 million in bonds to build a bus depot would require voter approval. Jackie Lowey, a school board member, pointed out that five years ago, when the district proposed borrowing $4.5 million to buy an old Verizon property on King Street, voters shot it down by a large margin. However, “the flaws of the last proposal, acknowledged by all, should not prohibit us,” Mr. Burns said.

In answer to a question from Ms. Lowey, Ms. Madison and Mr. Burns said there were no suitable properties anywhere else in the school district and that the district could not consider places outside district lines.

J.P. Foster, the school board president, said the financial advantages were a “no-brainer,” but he warned that siting the depot would be a challenge. “There are very few places to put it,” he said. “This property is not going to get any bigger. If we need a field today or two fields tomorrow, once it’s gone it’s gone. I think you at least have to bring it to everyone’s attention and say we need to take a look at this.”

Mr. Burns identified four possible locations, though some would mean one fewer playing field. One site would abut Long Lane at the far corner in front of the high school building, while another would take up the staff parking area and necessitate its relocation. Another possible site is on the other side of the turf field, and a fourth is on the northern side of the property behind the two baseball fields.

“Thinking about owning a property as opposed to renting just makes sense,” Mr. Burns said. “We are asking for help from the community. We have a healthy piece of land. There are possibilities . . . . This is an effort that the whole community has to be involved in.”

The next steps include more detailed examination of possible locations, further communication with the community and, in particular, with the high school’s neighbors, and possibly establishing a task force to study the proposal.

East Hampton has been operating its own transportation department since 2006 after its previous contractor, Schaefer and Sons, went out of business just a few of weeks before the start of the academic year.

The district announced yesterday that it will hold a special school board meeting, to include a public forum, on Nov. 10, related to the transportation proposal. It will take place at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.