After 25 years in which no major investments were made at the Montauk School, the district’s school board will put a $38 million bond on the May ballot, seeking community approval to bring the aging facility into the modern era. A recent state review found the school’s condition “unsatisfactory.”
The problems are many. There is outdated infrastructure around every corner. Almost unbelievably, students are taught in portable classrooms dating back to 1972. Parts of the main building have been essentially untouched for 98 years. Heat is seeping out of old windows. Basic things have been delayed, including replacing doors, updating the HVAC system, and properly dealing with trouble-prone boilers. Students eat in their classrooms — not a communal cafeteria. Musical instruments have to be stored in hallways.
The district plans to replace the existing gym, creating an accessible multipurpose space. It would add a modern science classroom, a new greenhouse, and bathrooms, redo its library and media center to reflect new learning requirements. It would provide for an updated security hub and address a range of maintenance issues. It would improve Americans with Disabilities Act-recommended access and provide new opportunities for adult education. Reconfiguration of the floor plan would create a separate wing for middle school-age students, while adding room to the cramped prekindergarten space. Yet for all this, the work is described as a renovation with minimal expansion, which would reduce the overall cost of long-term borrowing as compared to all-new construction. The need for an update is obvious. The question is whether district voters will go for it.
As nearly all school construction plans do, the price tag has climbed persistently, from an initial maximum of $28 million to now more than $40 million — the school will tap its reserve to make up the difference between the cost and the amount to be repaid by taxpayers. The tax hit to individuals has climbed as well, now adding an estimated $500 a year to a median homeowner’s bill. In fact, going back two years, the plan was just to replace the freestanding portable classrooms at a cost of about $2.4 million. However, as formal study began, that estimate ballooned, and additional needs were identified, prompting a full-scale look. A fact sheet with a QR code link to specific cost breakdowns can be found on the school website.
A bond resolution of this size will require public approval. Property tax concerns point to the need for a long-past-due reassessment across the town. With a massive increase in building and redevelopment, especially in Montauk, it may be that a lot of value is being left on the table, money that could help spread the burden of the school construction around and alleviate the pressure on individual residents who otherwise would see their school taxes grow more than they would like. A bond vote will be on the school board election ballot on May 20. Pressure should be put on the town board to do its part as well.