Anger Over Costly Vandalism
 Kate Maier |
(10/23/2008) East Hampton School Board members and administrators were outraged on Tuesday about a graffiti incident on the new synthetic high school track that will cost the district $40,000 in repairs. On the morning of Oct. 10, Joseph Vasile-Cozzo, the district’s athletic director, reported to East Hampton Town police that the track, a dugout, some storage buildings, portable toilets, and benches had been defiled.
In a phone interview yesterday, Raymond Gualtieri, the district superintendent, said that one area read “SPG ’09,” and that “there was a variety of stuff. I think it was class of 2009, and I think there was a giant penis.”
“It’s a rubberized surface, and it has a painted surface on top of that. The inherent issue is any time it’s exposed to sunlight it oxidizes. Because there’s texture to it, the paint can get down into the surface. So when you spray a line on it, you see the paint is still there,” said Eric Woellhof, the district’s facilities manager. He said maintenance crews had tried in vain to scrub the stuff off the track, and the district had no recourse but to go back to the company that had installed it for the repair.
The $40,000 estimate came in sometime last week. The district is hoping an insurance policy will cover most of the resurfacing costs, but even so, there’s still a $5,000 deductible to be paid.
To further complicate matters, Mr. Woellhof said the district might not be able to repair the damage until the spring. “For drying time, you need two to three days, and then you have weather. To guarantee this, you have to have 50 degrees and rising, so now we’re looking at possibly spring until we can do this.”
“The community’s pretty upset about it, and there’s a police investigation going on,” said Mr. Vasile-Cozzo. “We’re hoping to build pride in our community and our school, and we’re hoping they will find whoever did it.”
At the board meeting on Tuesday, Dr. Gualtieri said that criminal charges would likely be increased for the perpetrator, now that the cost estimate has come back. “That puts the graffiti on a whole new level. It can’t just be repainted.”
“If we find whoever had done this, the penalty will be a lot more,” said Sandra Vorpahl, the board president.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board entertained the possibility of adding a boys varsity swim team to the high school athletic program, possibly as soon as this winter. Dana Kalbacher, whose son is a sophomore and a swimmer, approached the board on the issue. This year, the district budgeted to pay for her son and two other swimmers to participate in an independent swim program, as they did last year.
But according to Mr. Vasile-Cozzo, “it’s a nominal difference between what the budget is now and what it would be. The independent coach, the bus, and the [East Hampton Y.M.C.A.] RECenter — all of that is included” in the current budget. He said he hadn’t budgeted for a team because there wasn’t enough concrete interest. At least 10 high school boys had to be ready to sign up for varsity swimming before budget season last year.
“There’s some discussion about there not being enough interest, but the sport hasn’t even been discussed,” said Ms. Kalbacher. “We live in a town where we have a fabulous junior lifeguard program, there are so many lifeguards and surfers in the high school. It’s a little crazy to see that East Hampton — we’re surrounded by this beautiful body of water — has no boys swim team.”
Last year, a girls varsity swim team was started. According to John Ryan Sr., a board member, the girls’ team doubled in size to nearly 20 participants this season.
“There’s a lot of misinformation about the swim team, because it’s confused with the Hurricanes swim team,” said Ms. Kalbacher of the Y.M.C.A. group.
According to Mr. Vasile-Cozzo, students who participate in a varsity swim team would be expected to practice for two hours a day, six days per week, for about eight or nine weeks between December and January.
A boys varsity swim meeting will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in the high school cafeteria. “For this year, Section 11 is not going to allow it, because it’s too late,” he speculated. But more boys could participate in the non-competitive program, and a team could be set up for next year. “I would love to see a program,” said Mr. Vasile-Cozzo.
Without making any promises, the board agreed to allow Mr. Vasile-Cozzo to look into it.
“With a swim team, you have meets, you have an identity, you have a cheering crowd. It’s so different,” said Mr. Ryan. “It would be so much better if we had a team.”