Provided that Sag Harbor voters agree, the athletic facilities at Mashashimuet Park will be considerably upgraded following several months of joint discussions between Sag school officials and the board of the nonprofit park.
Two regulation-size high school baseball diamonds would feature 300-foot baselines down the left and right, with a centerfield distance of about 325 feet. Over those two outfields is a space meant to be a practice field. Two softball fields, one of which could be used as a Little League diamond, will have baselines of 250 feet. There would be a track encircling a soccer and field hockey pitch, plus new bathrooms and abundant landscaping.
During Monday night’s Sag Harbor School Board meeting, there was high praise all around, not just for the plan and the park-and-school collaboration that produced it, but also for its environmentally-friendly approach. It fits so neatly into the park’s current footprint that there is almost no need to remove trees or other vegetation.
When it’s done, said Jeff Nichols, the school superintendent, the park will be “equally beautiful, if not more beautiful, than what’s there” now.
“I think the end result is a great one,” said Alex Kriegsman, a school board member. His colleague Jordana Sobey called it “phenomenal.” “The track is just so exciting, because that’s something the kids and community haven’t had before and has been missing from this community,” she said. “It’s just awesome. Thank you so much.”
Another board member, Chris Tice, said the plans “elevate” Sag Harbor as a whole: “In doing this service to enhance what our students have, it will also enhance what our community has.”
The next necessary piece is the cost. Part of the original plan negotiated between school officials and the park board last summer was that the district would float a bond referendum to pay for the park’s redevelopment, based on its status as a resource that benefits the entire community. A very preliminary price tag of $12 to $14 million was based on one of the project’s first iterations, which, Mr. Nichols said on Tuesday, is too outdated to be helpful at this point. He expects within the next week or two to hear from the district’s architectural firm, H2M, about a new estimate.
At the same time, Mr. Nichols said, he is exploring the possibility of piggybacking the bond vote onto the John Jermain Memorial Library budget vote in September. The district had hoped to put the referendum on the May 17 budget ballot, but “what is clear is that the original goal is not realistic, because it doesn’t provide enough time for us to present to the community and answer any questions that they may have.”
On Monday, Janine Rayano, president of the Mashashimuet Park Board, said the joint discussions had been “a very, very enjoyable experience, even though we worked very hard. We learned a lot. We’re hoping the community can get behind this.”
Fine-Tuning the Budget
Also on Monday, Jennifer Buscemi, Sag Harbor’s business official, reviewed the district’s entire 2022-23 budget proposal. The school board has not yet formally voted to adopt it, but the $45.99 million spending plan stays under the tax cap for the 11th straight year “while preserving all programs, extracurricular activities, athletics, and the continued investment in instructional technology and equipment,” Ms. Buscemi said.
Under state rules, Sag Harbor could have imposed a 2.73-percent tax-levy increase while needing only a simple majority of voter approval. However, the target is 2.5 percent. The year-over-year spending increase is also proposed at 2.5 percent, for an increase of about $1.12 million. The district will benefit from tuition paid by out-of-town families who send their children to the local schools, plus students from Wainscott and Sagaponack who come to Sag Harbor from fourth grade up. Taxpayers with houses valued at $1 million can expect to pay about $113 more for the year.
Matt Malone, the elementary school’s principal, said at Monday’s school board meeting that the proposed budget maintains all aspects of the prekindergarten-through-fifth-grade program “that I believe we should all be so proud of,” which meets the learning needs of the “whole child.” Average class sizes will remain at 18 students, he said. “That allows the instructors to really get to know the children well, get to know their needs, and make sure they make adjustments to their instructional practices so they can reach the academic standards that are set.”
For Pierson Middle and High School, Brittany Carriero, the principal, said the budget will enable the school to add courses and electives that build academic rigor and support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Classes in African-American studies and Latin American studies, coding, and food science are planned; another grade level of French language is being added; a “geometry foundations” math class will be offered; Advanced Placement Statistics will be open to ninth and 10th graders, and more eighth graders will have access to an accelerated science class called “living environment.”
A separate proposition will appear on the ballot for upgrades to the heating and ventilation systems at both Pierson and Sag Harbor Elementary, not to exceed $2.5 million, which will come from a capital reserve account. That money is already there, but the district needs voter approval to actually use it. The total cost, including a federal grant of $615,000, is $3.15 million.