‘Yes’ for Stella Maris

The former Stella Maris Regional School will remain a school after voters in Sag Harbor on Tuesday gave the Sag Harbor School District the go-ahead to purchase and renovate the building for use as a center for early childhood and special education services.

The tally was 736 to 595, or about 55.3 percent, in favor of a $10.23 million bond referendum that will allow the district to buy, update, and outfit the building. The proposal also includes a plan to move some of the administrative offices at Pierson Middle-High School to Stella Maris, lease some of the space in the Stella Maris building to a local day care facility, and use the newly freed-up space at Pierson to create a dedicated middle school wing.

Also approved was the district’s $38.77 million budget, which received 75.2 percent voter approval in a 997-to-328 vote. Katy Graves, the superintendent, said the budget preserves all current programs, staff, and services for the students.

In the contested school board race that saw four people run for two open seats, the community elected Susan Lamontagne, a newcomer, and re-elected Chris Tice, the school board’s current vice president. Ms. Lamontagne received 645 votes, just four more than Susan Kinsella, the other incumbent candidate and current school board president, and Ms. Tice received 738. Roxanne Briggs, the fourth candidate, received 478 votes. Overall voter turnout was up about 37 percent over last year’s total of 966 voters.

The affirmative vote on Stella Maris was the culmination of several months of work by Ms. Graves, the school business administrator, Jennifer Buscemi, and the school board, which had met behind closed doors numerous times since last summer to discuss the building’s real estate appraisal, price negotiations, and potential uses. The administrators prepared and oversaw a survey effort to gauge how the community felt about buying the Stella Maris property, evaluated the cost estimates of all of the possible options, and held several public meetings on the topic.

After the results came in on Tuesday, Ms. Graves thanked the community for its support and said, “the best is yet to come.”

“Our board of education did something very brave by bringing the Stella Maris proposition to the community, and I think the community had the opportunity and took it to come to the polls in significant numbers tonight to be heard,” Ms. Graves said. “We saw that they do want this project and we’re going to see what opportunities can come now and change the landscape for the Sag Harbor community and the Sag Harbor School District.”

Sag Harbor school officials recently came under fire from residents who alleged some of the executive sessions were improper. The administrators of the community Facebook page Sag Harbor Education Best Practices Group said they did not support the purchase of Stella Maris. In the days leading up to the vote, anonymous letters circulated in the community making claims aimed at swaying the vote.

“I really believe that some of that was just confusion at the last minute,” Ms. Graves said. “We worked hard to put out the information that we really don’t believe this will be a burden to our taxpayers.”

As the balloting progressed, some voters expressed support for the proposition. Mary and Joseph Lane, who are 20-year residents of Noyac, both voted for it.

“I think we need to support education,” Ms. Lane said. “I think it’s a great opportunity. I like the fact that they are supporting special education for the very youngest, particularly since the Child Development Center of the Hamptons is closing.”

But Jason Schommer, a 16-year resident of North Haven, voted no to Stella Maris. “We already spend a lot on school taxes,” he said. “There is no way this district should be spending that amount of money on that. They should use the resources they have.”

Lisa Kiss, an eight-year resident of the village, voted for the proposition despite some concerns over the cost, but said she thinks it will preserve the character of the village. “It’s a good investment,” she said. “I do feel better about the school owning it than anyone else.”