School districts in Bridgehampton, Wainscott, and Sagaponack have formally adopted spending plans for the 2024-25 school year, paving the way for community voting on May 21 and public hearings next week and the week after.
In Bridgehampton, on April 17 the school board adopted a budget of $22.55 million, which was down slightly from the estimate presented in March. A summary of the budget published on the district website shows an overall 3.74-percent increase in spending and 3.34-percent increase to the tax levy. This falls within the limitations of New York State’s cap on tax-levy increases, so Bridgehampton would need just a simple majority of voter approval to pass its budget.
For a house with a market value of $1 million, this would break down into about $66 more in school taxes for the year. For a house with a market value of $5 million, it would be about $330 more. The district notes that these are estimates because Southampton Town’s updated assessed values were not available at the time the budget was being prepared.
Bridgehampton’s public hearing will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium.
The Sagaponack School Board adopted a $2.04 million spending plan on April 9. This carries a year-over-year increase of just under $149,000, and complies with the state tax cap rules, so it, too, needs just a simple majority of voter approval.
In a summary provided to the media, the Sagaponack administration said the budget maintains the current academic program while adding a part-time aide position. The tax increase on an average Sagaponack house would be $22 for the year. Sagaponack’s budget hearing is set for May 14 at 6 p.m. at the schoolhouse.
In Wainscott, which is just coming off a year operating under an austerity budget after the failure of its budget in 2023, the adopted budget is $4.87 million. This carries a state-cap-compliant tax-levy increase of 2.58 percent, so unlike last year Wainscott will need a simple majority of voter approval for its budget to pass.
The school board wrote in a letter to residents on March 21 that the district’s finances have stabilized. “Despite last year’s disruption and uncertainty . . . it is incontrovertible that the district remains a model for providing an impactful educational program at the lowest absolute and relative cost to taxpayers,” the board wrote.
Wainscott’s public hearing will be on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the new schoolhouse.