On the Springs School Expansion

There is no question that the Springs School needs more space. The question is whether voters will approve a nearly $17 million bond to pay for expansion. They should. 

Central to the proposal is the addition of classroom and support space, improved play and sports fields, and a state-of-the-art septic upgrade. The last aspect of the work is not something to overlook; the school’s wastewater system has been on the verge of complete failure for some time and is thought to be a large contributor to pollution in nearby Accabonac Harbor.

But it is the kids who are most important here. At present, the school’s superintendent says the building is appropriate for about 340 students; 2017-18 enrollment was 736 students. Even on a cursory visit to the school the inadequacies were apparent, with a warren of classrooms, crowded halls and multipurpose spaces, and poor air circulation. A portion of the money for the estimated $22 million project would come from a reserve fund. 

As a bedroom community for a good part of the East End work force, Springs has had to shoulder an unfair burden in paying to educate its young people, while other districts, such as Amagansett, Wainscott, and Sagaponack, enjoy small class sizes and taxes that are low by comparison. Correcting such an outrageous imbalance is an urgent moral challenge for which state leadership is needed, but that is a question for another day. Right now, educating Springs’s kids in the best setting possible is the priority.