Residents will cast votes by absentee ballot this year to weigh in on the East Hampton School District’s proposed $71.98 million budget, plus a separate measure to move forward with building a culinary arts education facility at the high school.
The projected year-to-year increase in spending is 1.46 percent, and the proposed tax levy increase is 2.67 percent, which is the maximum the district could raise its levy without needing a supermajority of voter approval. East Hampton is anticipating a 20-percent reduction in the amount of state funding it will receive because of a Covid-19-related budget deficit statewide.
“We did also cut a couple of capital projects in order to bring the budget and tax rate down,” said Isabel Madison, the assistant superintendent for business. “Considering that there are so many people hurting because of the coronavirus, the [school] board has done this very responsibly. This leaves in all the programs for the students.”
The 2020-21 spending plan includes $588,000 to replace the aging synthetic turf athletic field at East Hampton High School, and $171,000 for renovations to the East Hampton Middle School auditorium. If the budget vote fails, school officials have said, these two projects would likely be eliminated — and the turf field closed for safety reasons next year.
“If the budget does go down, we do not have a second option this year to go to a re-vote,” Ms. Madison said. “The budget would go to contingency, which means we would cut $1.3 million.”
The tax rate increase is projected at less than .5 percent. The district did not provide a projected increase in actual dollars.
In a separate ballot proposition, East Hampton is seeking approval to release $2.2 million from its capital reserve to pay for a new teaching kitchen for a culinary arts and food preparation program to be housed at East Hampton High School. The project itself already received voter approval, but separate voter authorization is needed to release the money from the reserve.
Career and technical education are buzzwords in schools these days, and Ms. Madison says building a teaching kitchen here will save money in the long run, when students don’t have to be bused to and from a tuition-based culinary program in Riverhead. She said approval of this second proposition would not increase taxes.
Voters will automatically receive their absentee ballots, with postage-paid return envelopes, in the mail. Ballots are due back to the district clerk by 5 p.m. on June 9. There will be a virtual budget hearing on Monday at 6 p.m., to be broadcast by LTV on YouTube.
Three candidates are running for two seats on the school board. They are George Aman, who previously served one term on the board, and Jackie Lowey and John Ryan Sr., both of whom are incumbents. All three candidates said they want to contribute to the plans for school to reopen, eventually, amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. There will also be two write-in spaces on the ballot.
Mr. Aman said he is challenging Mr. Ryan and Ms. Lowey so the election is contested, and said he wants to bring forth term limits to the board. “I am a strong believer that there ought to be a competition for these things,” Mr. Aman said. “I have experience and can do it.” He also wants to boost the district’s adult education program and make sure the track at East Hampton High School is opened for senior citizens seeking exercise during the pandemic.
He was the superintendent of the Amagansett School District for 10 years, and taught mathematics for many years before and after that as a holder of an educational doctorate degree. He is a former volunteer for Meals on Wheels and a parent of seven children, one of whom attended school in East Hampton. Mr. Aman said his educational philosophy is one of practicality. “The material you teach ought to have meaning, and it ought to come from the world where it was first developed and be for understanding, as opposed to rote memory,” he said.
Ms. Lowey, who is seeking a fourth term, has a background in nonprofit fund-raising and executive operations. She worked for multiple departments within the United States government in Washington, D.C., and more recently became a real estate agent here for Saunders.
Ms. Lowey has two children, one of whom attends East Hampton High School. She has been active on the PTA and serves on the district’s academic, policy, and personnel committees. She was also a founding board member of the Children’s Museum of the East End.
Among her goals are supporting initiatives like the dual-language program at the elementary school, computer coding classes, the Advanced Placement Capstone program, a re-emerging focus on vocational education, and fine-tuning distance learning in case that method of teaching must continue or resume in the future. “I think it’s critical to have stability on the board,” she said. “We’re in the middle of a lot of really important initiatives. I want to make sure they move forward.”
Mr. Ryan is finishing up his 24th year as a school board member. All but four of his 28 years as a math and computer teacher were spent in East Hampton, and as a self-described “lifeguard for life,” he was a founder of the East Hampton Ocean Rescue squad. He is also a longtime member of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association, and a 22-year member of the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter board of managers.
Mr. Ryan has long pushed for housing partnerships to allow more of the district’s staff to live locally. He feels there needs to be “more open dialogue” between educators and community members, and says he is fiscally responsible. “We can save valuable taxpayer money by eliminating wasteful spending,” he said. “My wife Pat was a stay-at-home-mom — I know how to pinch pennies and save a buck.”
“I believe I can help this school district because of my background, my proven leadership, and my commitment to our wonderful community,” he said.