Vote: The $24.7 Million Question

The Bridgehampton School Board, which has discussed possible expansion of the kindergarten through 12th grade school building over the years, has set Dec. 13 for a referendum on whether to raise some $24.7 million to do so.

The board unanimously approved the Dec. 13 vote on a $24,734,568 proposition at its Oct. 19 meeting, with one board member, Kat McClelland, absent.

“This is a big step for this district and, in my mind, long overdue. . . . I feel very comfortable in bringing this proposed project to a vote and letting the people decide,” Jeff Mansfield, a board member, said. “That’s the way of our country, and the people will decide if they think this is a good idea.”

The school board also approved an environmental impact study required by state law, which clears the site for construction. The study concluded that “the proposed project will not result in significant impacts,” Robert Hauser, the assistant superintendent for finance and facilities, said during the meeting.

On Monday, however, the decision drew criticism from some members of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee, who charged that the board was pushing through a December vote at a time when older voters may have left for warmer climates. “Just for P.R. purposes, that is such a bad idea, in my opinion,” Pamela Harwood, the committee’s chairwoman, said.

She asked Mr. Mansfield, who attended the meeting, whether the board would consider postponing the vote. “My parents left for Arizona and they are going to vote because they are going to use an absentee ballot,” Mr. Mansfield responded. He noted that scheduling the referendum had been a unanimous board decision. “It’s not up to me,” he said.

“You may be doing yourselves in,” Julie Burmeister, who has worked as a substitute teacher at the school, later told Mr. Mansfield. She said the district superintendent, Lois Favre, and the board had said there would be more discussions. “It was pushed through too quickly,” she said.

In an email to The Star, Dr. Favre said discussions about expansion had been ongoing for about 10 years.

“Solving the significant space issues . . . will help us to create the kind of learning environment that students and teachers can thrive in, and certainly one that the hamlet of Bridgehampton can be proud of showcasing,” Dr. Favre said. “Investing in our students goes a long way in providing them with the confidence that their community cares, and is behind them. While the space issue is upon us and very real, the real need is to provide students a viable, updated space to learn, collaborate, and grow — they deserve that.”

The idea of consolidation with surrounding school districts, or sending older students to other schools, was quickly raised at the citizens’ meeting. One member asked if studies had been done on the matter. Mr. Mansfield said the board also would have to put any proposal to pay tuition for students to attend other schools to a vote.

Mr. Mansfield had been among a Bridgehampton contingent who believed the school should be closed and, in 2009, supported three candidates who ran on a platform to do so. They lost by a 3-to-1 margin in the highest turnout the district had ever seen. “In essence, that election, de facto, became a vote to keep the school open,” he said, adding that what he heard voters say was, “We don’t want to tuition out the high school.” 

The student population has grown 35 percent in the last four or five years, and the building, which has had no substantial capital improvements since constructed in 1939, is not considered adequate. “Right now, where I am, the status quo is unacceptable,” Mr. Mansfield  said.

Ms. Harwood, who said she had never stepped foot in the school until she attended a community presentation on the proposal, agreed there was little doubt the building needed to be renovated and modernized. It is the expansion that is being questioned, she said. She has invited the school board and the administration to the committee’s Nov. 28 meeting to make a formal presentation. 

Members of the group also complained that they had not known the board was going to decide on scheduling a vote at last week’s school board meeting. Mr. Mansfield said he was sorry they felt there was a lack of communication. “That school has been a bit of an island for whatever reason. The school really has been on its own. Part of it is the school’s fault and part of it is the outside community,” he said. Ms. Harwood said his comment was fair.

Bridgehampton School officials held two community forums on the expansion, one on a Wednesday evening in September and the other on a Saturday morning in October, offering building tours and seeking public discussion. Officials said they mailed information to every post office box in Bridgehampton before both events. Still to be determined are the terms by which the school district can issue bonds for the money needed.

The building plans are still in draft form. Created by John A. Grillo, a Port Jefferson-based architect, they show a 35,440-square-foot addition at the back of the building along with renovations in the existing facility. The draft includes a new gym, fitness center, locker rooms, cafeteria, music suite, science and technology labs, and classrooms dedicated to social studies and small group instruction. It includes a renovated library and an auditorium with a stage. The existing auditorium doubles as a gym.

“We will be working as a team — community, board, staff, and students — to assure that the draft turns into a viable plan that meets the needs of the students and provides for community use where possible and practical,” Dr. Favre said.