Stella Maris Referendum Planned
The Sag Harbor School District will ask the community during the annual school board and budget vote in May whether it should issue bonds to buy and renovate the Stella Maris Regional School. The purchase would cost $3.3 million and the renovations at least $6.34 million to bring the building up to current state codes.
Katy Graves, Sag Harbor’s superintendent, said last week that the school board has definite plans to add such a bond referendum to the ballot. “That’s the advice we got from our attorney. No type of survey can ever take the place of a bond vote,” Ms. Graves said.
The district unveiled these costs and five potential uses for the building on Tuesday after several months of research, discussions in executive sessions, and time spent preparing the report and a related survey of public opinion.
In a letter to the community that accompanied a 42-page document filled with information, the school board described the potential to purchase Stella Maris, the value of which has fallen to $3.3 million from $3.5 million, as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.
“The questions we have been grappling with are many. Should we buy it? If we do, how would we use it? Could it be an income-producing asset?” the board said. “At the end of the day, the decision to purchase this property is up to the voters. However, considering our unique position, we felt obligated to do the due diligence necessary to judge the value of this investment by examining the possibilities and fully vetting these questions for the community.”
Five proposed uses for Stella Maris if voters approve the purchase would range from an additional $596,000 to $2.32 million for programs. The first would be to relocate the prekindergarten, some special education classes, and certain district offices. The space vacated at Pierson Middle and High School would then be used to create an “authentic middle school wing.”
The second potential use would be a district-wide facility that could even prepare food for the elementary school, which currently does not have a school cafeteria. It would also include options for career training programs for high school students.
A third proposal would be to establish the STEAM Academy of the East End. The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. A fourth proposal would be to establish a Culinary Arts and Hospitality Academy of the East End, which would also have a large group instruction and event space.
A fifth option would be to purchase the facility for the sole purpose of leasing it to youth services and community programs, with no school services there.
The information and survey are available in the school offices, at the John Jermain Memorial Library, and online at bit.ly/stellamarisschool. The district will collect responses through March 16.
Nowhere in the material does the district outline the possible impact that running these programs might have on its general operating budget, which James Sanford, a resident who has been a vocal critic of the district’s exploration of the Stella Maris property, says is a major flaw. “To me that’s the most important data . . . for the public to make a decision,” Mr. Sanford said yesterday. “We’re under very onerous tax cap constraints over the next few years. The options confound me.”
He likened the district’s inquiry into potential revenue-producing programs to starting a business. “Why does a district think it should be using its funds to start a speculative business?” he said. “We’re not venture capitalists. Options three to five specifically make us look like we are.”