The Sagaponack School has received so many new student inquiries over the last several weeks that the chief school administrator is searching for extra space to supplement the Little Red Schoolhouse's own classrooms.
Alan Van Cott, the Sagaponack superintendent, confirmed Tuesday that he is looking around the community for more space.
During a Zoom call with Wainscott residents on Saturday, Donald Louchheim, Sagaponack's mayor, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought an influx of new families and second-home owners into the village over the last several months.
The current schoolhouse "is good for non-Covid type classrooms, but if we were to have a large increase, we wouldn't be able to handle it under the restrictions and requirements," Mr. Van Cott said. "No contracts have been signed, no leases have been agreed to -- all we're doing is looking for additional space in the community, which will allow us to meet the requirements of social distancing."
He declined to specify on the record how many new student enrollments Sagaponack has, "but it's not where it's going to put us out of the building yet," he said.
Like its neighbor in Wainscott, the Sagaponack School received an extension of time from New York State to file its reopening plans. Initially due July 31, Sagaponack now has until the end of the day Friday to submit its plans.
"I have every reason to believe the plan will be submitted no later than the end of the day on Thursday," Mr. Van Cott said on Tuesday.