The Montauk School District has received community support to tackle student hunger with its “food table,” an idea that originated with its PTA organization that was so successful the district made it a permanent part of its operating budget.
The food table, said Josh Odom, Montauk’s superintendent and principal, allows kids to “have access to nutritious food anytime they want it, no questions asked.” It has been particularly helpful since the school does not offer a lunch program.
Initially, the district spent $250 per week to stock fresh fruit. “It wasn’t enough,” Mr. Odom said, noting that the PTA then began supplementing it with its own money from fund-raising efforts.
During its Sept. 24 meeting, the Montauk School Board voted to accept a $6,000 donation from the East Hampton Education Foundation for the food table. Mr. Odom said the district is grateful to the organization and the PTA for their “amazing” contributions.
The food table is similar to the Springs School District’s “Susan’s Lunch Drawer,” named after a late staff member who always had snacks at the ready. The East Hampton School District has also received donations to support student nutrition.
“This is something we want to support,” he added. “It’s really been a great initiative.”
The board’s Sept. 24 meeting agenda was packed with topics to address. In addition to the food table donation, the school board approved spending $328,930 on two new 66-passenger school buses to refresh a fleet of older buses it purchased from the McCoy Bus Company when it closed down in 2021. Mr. Odom expects the buses to be in service by the beginning of 2025.
Enrollment is “holding steady” at about 300 students, he told the school board.
Additionally, the district has begun the process of architectural design and engineering to work on parts of the building that are beginning to show their age. “The Montauk School has its 100-year anniversary coming up in 2027,” said Mr. Odom, noting that there are several seventh and eighth grade classrooms that are “aging and need replacement.”
The architectural firm B.B.S., which has previously worked with Springs and Sag Harbor, among others across the region, has been retained to begin the process.
“We want to work together to best maximize the space of the school if we’re going to spend money on this project,” Mr. Odom said, centering the project on the community and the students. “We’re trying to be creative in this process. We want what benefits the students of Montauk on a social and curricular level.”
The district is still in the planning phase but Kevin Walsh, an architect with B.B.S., will be making a presentation to the school board at its next meeting, set for Tuesday at 4 p.m.