Montauk residents gathered in the school gym on March 19 to hear an overview of the school district’s plans for a $38.4 million renovation that will be on the ballot in May.
Joshua Odom, the school principal and superintendent, talked about what the district hopes to accomplish with the project, fielded questions about the high price tag, and explained the need, noting that the school has “not had a significant investment since 2000.”
The big-ticket items in the project include the construction of a new gym, with a new greenhouse and science lab, and a renovation of the library and administrative offices. A chunk of the proposed work is general maintenance and upgrades to ensure the school meets building condition standards. These include interior door replacements, ventilation work, pipe and plumbing vent replacement, and handicapped accessibility.
An important note on the cost is that most architects add a projected 76-percent increase on services in Montauk, an unfortunate cost of doing business at the very end of Long Island.
It is estimated that the average Montauk taxpayer, someone with a house assessed at around $5,500, will see a $37 a month bump in their taxes, something Mr. Odom acknowledges is a “significant investment.”
“But again, these are investments that we’re going to have to make at some point in time,” he said, “the proposal here takes a big dent out of that right now.”
“Did you figure out how much it would cost to just fix it or bring it up to whatever it needs to be without adding on all this space and everything else?” asked Cynthia Ibrahim, who was one of several people at the meeting concerned about the increase in taxes that would come with the project.
“You’re not thinking about people like senior citizens who are on a fixed income that can’t afford another $500 a year in taxes because you want to do this,” Ms. Ibrahim said later.
Even if the district were to work only to fix and upgrade its current space without adding the new gym, Mr. Odom estimated it would still be in for around $20 million, but would “get no additional programming and . . . nothing new for that money.”
A major project on the building has been discussed since 2014, Mr. Odom said, and every year “we delay doing something” means a cost increase of 7 percent. “I just don’t see how we can put it off any longer.”
Some in the crowd like Ann Peterson, a longtime Montauk resident, did not see the bond as a burden but as an opportunity to invest in the future. “This school has been here a long time, and it’s going to be here a long time,” Ms. Peterson said. “What better way to invest than in our children?”
With the new gym being the face of the bond referendum many were curious about the need for it. Barbara Grimes asked Mr. Odom what he anticipates “the usage of a designated gym space would be over the school day?”
Mr. Odom said the current gym is used for about 75 percent of the day. “It’s utilized six days a week,” he said, “most nights until 9 o’clock at night; school doors open at 7 a.m.”
Apart from being merely a physical education space, the gym is also the school’s performing arts space for plays and musicals, as well as the rehearsal and performance space for the school’s music programs. It hosts many after school programs, both for students and the community at large. And when there is a play or musical ensemble using the gym, it can’t be used for anything else.
The school also has a set of portable classrooms behind the gym dating back to 1972 that will be removed as part of the project. Part of the library renovation will be expanding its space to serve as a communal area for group learning, as well as shifting classrooms to make up for the loss of the portable ones.
“If we’re going to build another building,” Ms. Ibrahim asked, “why not build a middle school?”
“I think that’s what we’re doing by reutilizing space that we have,” Mr. Odom answered. The renovations around the library are planned around making a middle-school-centralized area. Mr. Odom wants that section to effectively become the “middle school wing” of the school.
“Middle schoolers do not own a piece of this building,” Mr. Odom said, “and I view our middle schoolers as they should be — the shining stars of what we produce here in Montauk.”
As Mr. Odom showed the crowd the renderings and floor plans from BBS Architects, a question that came up many times concerned the idea of input on the design from the community, school staff, and even students. The proposals Mr. Odom was showing are spatial designs only; he said that the district is planning to seek input from all parties once it reaches the design stage.
A resolution to put the bond on the May 20 ballot is anticipated in the coming weeks. That will be followed by a 45-day public comment period. If the bond is approved the plans and renderings are submitted to New York State for approval, a nine-month process, after which the district can finally put the project out to bid. The board will meet next on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.