Connections

Going to vote this week at the John Marshall Elementary School, I found myself thinking about Bridgehampton.

Although I was once a John Marshall School parent, I hadn't been there since its $4.85 million renovation was completed.

The first thing that surprised me was the configuration of its parking lots and access road. I parked at rather a distance from the gym entrance, which voters were instructed to use, and, once inside, was struck by the size of everything - even the halls.

The gym itself amazed me, for a kindergarten through fourth-grade school. Good lord, I thought, East Hampton ought to invite the Killer Bees, Bridgehampton High School's championship basketball team, to play its home games here.

There may be something, of course, to be said for the effect the Bridgies' small gym, which doubles as an auditorium, has on their being able to defeat much bigger, richer schools. But I doubt it.

Even though there are 487 students at John Marshall and only 175 from kindergarten through the 12th at Bridgehampton this fall, the disparity between the spaciousness of John Marshall and Bridgehampton's need to use three prefabricated buildings, which contain 10 teaching spaces and three offices, came as a shock.

It is interesting to note that when the expansion of John Marshall was first broached, in 1994, the estimate for space including offices was $7 million. The project eventually came in at less than $5 million.

The voters have turned down a $6 million expansion plan twice in Bridgehampton, but its need for larger and better school space is indisputable. This would be true even if the district were to be consolidated with Southampton or Sag Harbor some day. The Bridgehampton School Board has no choice but to whittle down the cost of its plan and to do everything it can to obtain voter approval next time around.

It was about 8:30 p.m. when I left John Marshall after voting. As I walked around to the side of the building where my car was parked, I felt sorry. I couldn't help noticing that the lights were on in every empty classroom and hallway I could see.

Helen S. Rattray