The Bridgehampton School District closed bidding on its school renovation and expansion project on Tuesday with no unwelcome surprises. It was the third round of bidding after the first two rounds, in summer, came back 25 percent higher than expected and the district went back to voters for an additional $4.74 million in September. The school board expects to award contracts next week, the first step toward breaking ground on the $29.4 million project as soon as late November.

The bids were immediately opened on Tuesday for all four aspects of the project — general contractor, electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning. They came in within budget, allowing the district’s architect, John A. Grillo, and its construction management company, School Construction Consultants, to move on to making the recommendations they will deliver to the school board.

“I believe we had a total of 20-plus bids, and it looks like we’ve identified the four contractors,” Robert Hauser, the district’s superintendent, said Tuesday night. “If we vote to approve at that Oct. 17 meeting, we would expect the contractor to at least start mobilizing to start doing the work within 30 days — so, before Thanksgiving.” 

Mr. Hauser said numerous details, such as the order in which the various contractors will do their work, have to be worked out. Adjusting to the disruptions the work will create between now and the summer of 2020, when the district is hoping the project will be finished, will also be necessary.

“There’s going to be some inconveniences, and it’s going to be logistically challenging for the staff, for the students, for anybody who has got to access the back grounds at the school,” Mr. Hauser said. “I’m even concerned about our neighbors, because of the dust and the noise. We’re going to have to open up a dialogue with them.”

When the project is complete, the school will have geothermal heating and new science, technology, English, math, and music rooms, as well as a new regulation-size gym, locker rooms, and cafeteria. Part of the current gym will become an auditorium and the remainder a new school library. The school will also be able to move its prekindergarten out of 40-year-old modular classrooms on the west side of the school into the main building. 

At last month’s school board meeting, Ron White and Douglas DeGroot, members of the board, said they would like to examine expanding programs and even hiring more teachers once the badly needed added space is available.

Nearly two years after winning approval for a $24.7 million expansion and renovation project, the Bridgehampton School District will ask voters next Thursday for permission to borrow an additional $4.7 million to bring the project to fruition.

A forum on the project and next Thursday’s vote will be held Thursday at 6 in the school gym. The vote the following week will take place from 2 to 8 p.m., also in the gym. 

At Thursday’s forum, the district’s architect, John A. Grillo of Port Jefferson, will be on hand along with Nick Amoruso, Bob Caliendo, and Chuck Quinn of School Construction Consultants, the construction management firm, and Paul Grosser of P.W. Grosser Consulting, which is overseeing LEED certification for the project. They will help make the case for the additional borrowing and discuss progress to date, as well as the installation of a geothermal heating and cooling system (paid for with capital reserve funds). 

With a building permit in hand from the New York State Department of Education as of June 1 and some work set to begin over the summer, the district held a groundbreaking ceremony in early June. However, after soliciting bids from general, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing contractors, the school board found that even the lowest of them were higher than the district had budgeted for. The project, with some renovations scaled back ever so slightly, was put out to bid again in July, and again the bids all came in higher than budgeted, by nearly $4 million. 

Heeding its architect’s advice, the board decided to go back to voters to authorize the additional spending, plus a 20-percent contingency. 

“On the second set of bids, the architect actually removed renovation of the existing gymnasium,” Robert Hauser, the district’s superintendent, said yesterday. The fact that the bids still came in over budget at that point indicated that additional bonding would be the way to go. 

The project, first approved by voters in December 2016, will add more than 35,000 square feet to the school. The building is to get a new regulation-size gym, locker rooms, and cafeteria, as well as new science, technology, and music rooms. Part of the current gym is to become an auditorium and the remainder a new school library. The addition will allow the prekindergarten to be moved into the main building and out of 40-year-old modular classrooms on the west side of the school. Renovations are to create new two new English classrooms and one for math. 

Ultimately the building, which is over 80 years old, will more than double in size. 

Separately, in May 2017, Bridgehampton voters approved the establishment of a reserve fund to pay for a geothermal heating and cooling system, and in October 2017 authorized spending from that fund for the geothermal system and other repairs. 

The district had originally hoped construction might begin in May 2018, but with the building permit not in hand until June, bids had to be solicited at the height of the school-construction season, Mr. Hauser said. Should voters approve the bond next Thursday, the project will have to be put out to bid a third time, as the most recent bids were only good for 45 days. “Summer is very busy with the trades,” Mr. Hauser said. Now, “we’ll get hopefully a more favorable response in terms of the number of contractors who bid,” and the price they offer, he said.

Before the second set of bids were rejected, the district had knocked down a portable building holding pupil personnel services offices. Those offices are now located in a temporary trailer. 

Mr. Hauser is hopeful that the community will support the bond. “We’ve been listening and answering questions from the community and parents and staff and even students,” he said. “People want to see this project completed and they understand that this extra amount is needed.” 

The additional borrowing would add an estimated $40 a year to a tax bill for a house assessed at $2 million, Mr. Hauser said.

If the bond is passed and work can begin in November, as he hopes, the project could be complete by June of 2020. 

Those not yet registered to vote in the Bridgehampton School District who would like to cast ballots next Thursday have their final chance to do so tomorrow from 4 to 8 p.m. at the school. Proof of residency in the district is required, and people may not also be registered to vote elsewhere. Absentee ballot applications are available in the district office. Those wishing to receive an absentee ballot by mail have until today to request one.

Absentee ballots are also available at the district office through Wednesday. In order to be counted, completed absentee ballots must be received by the school by mail or in person no later than 5 p.m. next Thursday.

Youth Soccer, Sports Clinics

Fall sign-up for East Hampton Town’s youth soccer program for first through sixth graders, as well as fall tennis, basketball, and golf clinics, is underway. 

Soccer games will be at the Stephen Hand’s Path fields in East Hampton on Saturdays from Sept. 22 through Nov. 10, at 9 and 10:30 a.m., noon, and 1:15 p.m. Registration will take place at the fields this Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and on Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost is $45. Players can also be registered at the Parks and Recreation Department behind Town Hall or the Montauk Playhouse weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Tennis clinics at the East Hampton Town Youth Park on Abraham’s Path will begin the week of Sept. 17 for kindergarten through sixth graders. Clinics run from 4 to 5 p.m. on Mondays for fourth through sixth grades, Wednesdays for second and third grades, and Fridays for kindergarten and first grade. The cost is $45 for six weeks. Registration is at the Parks and Rec offices or the Playhouse. 

Free basketball clinics will be offered on Thursdays beginning Sept. 20 at the youth park, with sessions from 4 to 5 p.m. for kindergarten through third grade and from 5 to 6 p.m. for fourth through sixth.

Looking a bit further ahead, golf clinics at Montauk Downs will take place on Sundays from Sept. 30 through Oct. 28, at 9 a.m. for kindergarten through second grade and at 10:45 a.m. for third through sixth grade. The cost is $125, and registration is by phoning 631-668-5000.

“Let It Go” and “Remember Me”?

In the “House of Mouse Spectacular” at the Southampton Arts Center, professional singers will belt out Disney songs beloved by children and probably parents, too. (Admit it, moms and dads, you sing those Disney tunes in the car by yourself.)

The free concert, at 6 p.m., will feature Sue Conklin, Bethany Dellapolla, Valerie diLorenzo, Hannah Fay Huizing, and Jack Seabury, with accompaniment by Amanda Borsack Jones, David Elliot on drums, and Steve Shaughnessy on bass. 

Bay Seining in Noyac

Al Daniels will lead another of his popular bay seining events with the South Fork Natural History Museum on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Noyac Bay. The whole family will have a chance to help haul in the catch and examine the variety of marine life before safely releasing it back into its natural habitat. The meeting spot can be learned by calling the museum in Bridgehampton. 

Three, Two, One, Blastoff!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to take part in a model rocket program at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton, but you might become one someday. 

Over the course of two Wednesdays, next week and Sept. 19, both at 4 p.m., kids will first build and then launch their own model rockets as they learn about space travel. The construction will take place at the library, with the launch at the baseball field near the Bridgehampton Firehouse. Advance registration is required, as space is limited. 

Also on the schedule at the Hampton Library this week is an abstract space-scene painting workshop for kids 4 and up tomorrow at 4 p.m., a story time for all ages on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and a string art session for grades six and up on Tuesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sticking with the space theme, on Friday, Sept. 14, kids 4 and older can make space invaders from melty beads at 4 p.m.

Advance registration is required for most programs. 

Groovin’ in September

The start of the school year isn’t slowing things down in the children’s and young-adult departments at the East Hampton Library, where workshops and programs abound this week. After school today, for example, at 4 p.m., kids can stop in for a screening of “The Emperor’s New Groove.” 

Wind chimes from recycled materials will be the craft in a program for high school students on Sunday at 3 p.m. Also for high schoolers, there will be sessions on 3-D printing with the Tinkercad app on Monday, Tuesday, and next Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. 

Two Snap Circuits workshops for ages 7 and older, imparting some of the basics of electronic circuitry, will be held this week, on Monday at 3 p.m. and on Friday, Sept. 14, at 3:30.

Kids in sixth through eighth grades will have a chance to decorate a canvas pencil pouch on Tuesday at 4 p.m. On Wednesday at the same hour, children 6 and older will explore the work of the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt and recreate his “Tree of Life” with their own flair. 

New Friends, a program led by Ellen Johansen, an early childhood music and movement specialist, will begin next Thursday for babies up to 3 and their adult caregivers, who will make music together each week from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.

Finally, next Thursday at 4 p.m., dinosaurs will be the theme for a story time and craft for ages 4 to 6.

About 30 people turned out at a Bridgehampton community forum Thursday night to ask pointed questions and hear Bridgehampton School District officials and contractors explain the confluence of events that is sending the district back to residents on Thursday for a vote to approve an additional $4.7 million in funding for renovation and expansion of the school, on top of the $24.7 million that voters greenlighted two years ago.

But the rationale for the project — which would double the size of the 80-year old building, update its mechanical systems, and add badly needed classrooms, a regulation-size gym, and other basics — was only mildly debated during the 90-minute forum in the school’s gym.

Lillian Tyree-Johnson, a vice president of the Bridgehampton School Board, who was seated in the audience, drew applause when she said, "We’re the only school district on the East End that has not done capital improvement in the last 25 years, and we are direly in need. We have kids testing in hallways and it’s not right. We’re asking for what we need. It is not a wish list." 

The vote will take place next Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym. Proof of residency in the district is required, and people may not also be registered to vote elsewhere. Absentee ballots are also available at the district office through Wednesday. Completed absentee ballots must be received by the school by mail or in person no later than 5 p.m. Thursday in order to be counted.

If the additional funding is approved, district Superintendent Robert Hauser estimated that individual taxpayer’s bills would rise about $20 a year for every million dollars of assessed value on their home.

If not approved, Mr. Hauser said, the district could revisit downsizing the project. But that would require redesigning the plans and then going back to the school board, then the New York State Education Department for new permit approval and would add years to the completion of the project. Originally, the district had hoped to break ground on it last May.

Joyce Weinberg, who has a child in middle school, said waiting will be difficult as it is.

"I’m a brand-new homeowner in Bridgehampton. I moved here from New York just for this school," Ms. Weinberg said. "This building, while it seems enormous, is so overcrowded. The library for the school already is not sufficient for the needs of the kids. What can we do to get bids from good contractors that make sense?"

Pamela Harwood of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee came to the forum prepared with a list of questions from C.A.C. members. She was among the residents who wanted to know how such a significant cost overrun could have happened? Did officials consider eliminating features of the project to make budget?

Mr. Hauser and the district’s architect, John A. Grillo of Port Jefferson, provided some detailed answers.

Mr. Grillo said the district was set back when its permit from the State Education Department to proceed with the $24.7 million renovation took nearly a year to obtain, or twice as long as expected -- a delay he attributed to the department’s backlog and staffing shortage. 

The permit delay pushed the district's ability to even solicit construction bids for the project into June of this year.

"June is the absolute worst time of year to go out for bids," Mr. Grillo said, adding that most public works/school contractors are already into their "summer craze" and occupied with other projects by then. 

The result? When the bids came back, even the lowest of them were higher than the district budgeted for. The district put out the project for a second round of bidding in July, with a few minor changes. Again, the bids came in over budget. 

Mr. Grillo said the district had allowed for some cost overruns, but not $4.7 million. He said it is a bidder’s market right now.

"I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and I've never seen anything come close to this -- nearly a 25-percent increase in two years," Mr. Grillo said.

"With the total number of bond issues being approved by school districts across Long Island, there is just too much work out there, not enough manpower out there," Mr. Grillo said. "I don’t think it's that concrete [prices] went up more than asphalt, or steel went up more than sheetrock. . . . What we’re seeing [from bidders] is, 'There’s a ton of work out there, so if I normally charge $100 a ton for asphalt, I’m going to charge $125. . . . If I get it, lucky me.’ That’s what I’m seeing across the board."

Downsizing the project rather than seeking the additional $4.7 million in funding was considered. But William Jackson, the district’s attorney, said the district has to be sensitive about cutting features that voters thought they were getting when they approved the original $24.7 million in funding.

"The general test that we use is you have to deliver the project as originally designed in all material respects," Mr. Jackson said.

The proposed additions and renovations will allow the prekindergarten to be moved into the main building and out of 40-year-old modular classrooms on the west side of the school. The school will get a new regulation-size gym, locker rooms, and cafeteria, as well as new science, technology, English, math, and music rooms. Part of the current gym is to become an auditorium and the remainder a new school library.

Mr. Hauser said if Thursday’s funding vote passes, the district would seek new bids immediately and hope to break ground by November since its permit and building plans are already in place. "That’s the one bright side in all of this," Mr. Hauser said.

About 30 people turned out at a Bridgehampton community forum last Thursday night to ask pointed questions and hear Bridgehampton School District officials and contractors explain the confluence of events that is sending the district back to residents Thursday for a vote to approve an additional $4.7 million for renovation and expansion of the school, on top of the $24.7 million that voters greenlighted two years ago.

The vote takes place from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym.

The rationale for the project — which would double the size of the 80-year-old building, update its mechanical systems, and add badly needed classrooms, a regulation-size gym, and other basics — was only mildly debated during the 90-minute forum in the school’s gym.

Lillian Tyree-Johnson, a vice president of the Bridgehampton School Board, who was seated in the audience, drew applause when she said, “We’re the only school district on the East End that has not done capital improvement in the last 25 years, and we are direly in need. We have kids testing in hallways and it’s not right. We’re asking for what we need. It is not a wish list.” 

If the additional funding is approved, Robert Hauser, the district superintendent, estimated that individual taxpayers’ bills would rise about $20 a year for every million dollars of assessed value on their homes.

If not approved, Mr. Hauser said, the district could revisit downsizing the project. But that would require redesigning the plans and then going back to the school board, then the New York State Education Department for new permit approval and would add years to the completion of the project. Originally, the district had hoped to break ground on it in May 2018. 

Joyce Weinberg, who has a child in middle school, said waiting will be difficult as it is.

“I’m a brand-new homeowner in Bridgehampton. I moved here from New York just for this school,” Ms. Weinberg said. “This building, while it seems enormous, is so overcrowded. The library for the school already is not sufficient for the needs of the kids. What can we do to get bids from good contractors that make sense?”

Pamela Harwood of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee came to the forum prepared with a list of questions from C.A.C. members. She was among the residents who wanted to know how such a significant cost overrun could have happened? Did officials consider eliminating features of the project to make budget?

Mr. Hauser and the district’s architect, John A. Grillo of Port Jefferson, provided some detailed answers.

Mr. Grillo said the district was set back when its permit from the State Education Department to proceed with the $24.7 million renovation took nearly a year to obtain, or twice as long as expected — a delay he attributed to the department’s backlog and staffing shortage. 

The permit delay pushed the district’s ability to even solicit construction bids for the project into June of this year.

“June is the absolute worst time of year to go out for bids,” Mr. Grillo said, adding that most public works/school contractors are already into their “summer craze” and occupied with other projects by then. 

The result? When the bids came back, even the lowest of them were higher than the district had budgeted for. The district put out the project for a second round of bidding in July, with a few minor changes. Again, the bids came in over budget. 

Mr. Grillo said the district had allowed for some cost overruns, but not $4.7 million. He said it is a bidder’s market right now.

“I’ve been doing this for 27 years, and I’ve never seen anything come close to this — nearly a 25-percent increase in two years,” Mr. Grillo said.

“With the total number of bond issues being approved by school districts across Long Island, there is just too much work out there, not enough manpower out there,” Mr. Grillo said. “I don’t think it’s that concrete [prices] went up more than asphalt, or steel went up more than Sheetrock. . . . What we’re seeing [from bidders] is, ‘There’s a ton of work out there, so if I normally charge $100 a ton for asphalt, I’m going to charge $125. . . . If I get it, lucky me.’ That’s what I’m seeing across the board.”

Downsizing the project rather than seeking the additional $4.7 million in funding was considered. But William Jackson, the district’s attorney, said the district has to be sensitive about cutting features that voters thought they were getting when they approved the original $24.7 million in funding.

“The general test that we use is you have to deliver the project as originally designed in all material respects,” Mr. Jackson said.

The proposed additions and renovations will allow the prekindergarten to be moved into the main building and out of 40-year-old modular classrooms on the west side of the school. The school will get a new regulation-size gym, locker rooms, and cafeteria, as well as new science, technology, English, math, and music rooms. Part of the current gym is to become an auditorium and the remainder a new school library.

Mr. Hauser said if Thursday's funding vote passes, the district would seek new bids immediately and hope to break ground by November since its permit and building plans are already in place. “That’s the one bright side in all of this,” Mr. Hauser said.

Only those registered to vote in the Bridgehampton School District may cast ballots Thursday.

Big Truck Day

Big rigs of all varieties, from ambulances and fire trucks to tractors and semis, will be on hand at the Children’s Museum of the East End’s Big Truck Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon in Bridgehampton.

The focus will be on the machines that “keep the East End moving,” according to the museum, but for those driving something smaller — say a dad in a minivan or a mom in an S.U.V. — a police officer at an inspection station will make sure car seats are installed correctly. Admission is $15, but members of the museum get in free. Space is limited, however, so advance registration has been suggested. 

Holidays New and Old

You may not know it, but Saturday is International Dot Day. To celebrate, the Montauk Library will teach kids 7 and older about Georges Seurat, an artist who painted with “dots,” and lead them as they paint their own autumn pointillist scenes. 

Next Thursday, the children’s department will celebrate a holiday many people probably do know about — Mexican Independence Day. From 4 to 5 p.m., there will be games, dancing, Mexican folk tales, and a sweet treat. Advance registration is required for both programs.

Dance Classes Begin

Registration is underway for classes at both the Hampton Ballet Theatre School in Bridgehampton and Dancehampton in East Hampton. Classes at each began this week.

The Hampton Ballet Theatre School offers for children 41/2 and older instruction in classical ballet as well as contemporary classes with a focus on hip-hop, jazz, tap, and dance at studios on Butter Lane and at the Bridgehampton Community House. The school produces “The Nutcracker” in December at Guild Hall and a spring production as well. Children must be enrolled in the school’s fall and winter semesters to be eligible for “The Nutcracker” workshop. Rehearsals start on Friday, Sept. 21, and Sept. 22. For individual class details and registration, the school can be reached at 631-237-4810 or [email protected].

Dancehampton classes for children in preschool through high school include hip-hop, jazz and musical theater, Irish step, ballet, and lyrical. They are offered Monday through Saturday. The studio puts on a spring show and also has a dance company that travels for competitions. Registration is online at dancehampton.com.

“13 the Musical” at Pierson

Pierson High School’s theater department and International Baccalaureate program will present “13 the Musical” tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the school auditorium.

Admission is free, but seats can be reserved in advance by searching “13 the Musical Pierson High School” at eventbrite.com. Donations from the audience will help cover the expenses associated with the production; any additional proceeds will be donated to Bay Street’s Literature Live! program.

This will mark the second production of “13 the Musical” for some students, who were in sixth and seventh grade five years ago, when the middle school theater department first staged it under the direction of Paula Brannon. They fell in love with it, according to a release, and convinced Ms. Brannon to fly in from California to help them recreate it as part of the I.B. program’s creativity, action, and service requirement for graduation. 

Students have taken on directing, acting, producing, fund-raising, and marketing roles for this weekend’s production. Participants include Anna Schiavoni, Reilly Rose Schombs, Yanni Bitis, Graham DiLorenzo, Thomas Lawton, Eva Doyle, and Ella Knibb.

Fun With Tie-Dye 

Families will use leaves, flowers, and other things collected on a walk at the South Fork Natural Museum in Bridgehampton on Saturday to make unusual tie-dye pieces during a workshop on Saturday at 10 a.m. Attendees have been asked to take a T-shirt or other piece of fabric to dye. Shirts will also be available for purchase for $10. Registration ahead of time is required. 

Hands On

At the East Hampton Library this week, kids have several opportunities to set aside advanced technology and work with their hands. On Wednesday at 3 p.m., kids 7 to 10 will use dried beans and legumes to make mosaic prints. Then at 4 p.m., things could get wonderfully messy during an art workshop for ages 3 to 5 inspired by Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Participants have been advised to wear a smock or large T-shirt if they can.

Three Snap Circuits electronics workshops will be given this week for kids 7 and older: tomorrow and Friday, Sept. 21, at 3:30 p.m., and Monday at 4 p.m.

Bridgehampton School District residents approved an additional $4.74 million in funding Thursday for the district's renovation and expansion project, bumping the total funding for the project to $29.4 million and avoiding a new round of delays that could have pushed completion of the project well past the current July 2020 target date.

The district will immediately bid out the project to contractors in hopes of breaking ground on construction work by November, if all proceeds as planned. 

Voters approved the measure 132-98.

“Once again, the Bridgehampton community comes out to show incredible support for the students, staff, and community itself," Robert Hauser, the district superintendent, said Thursday night.

Mr. Hauser said he had been cautiously optimistic in the days leading up to the vote.

"I hadn't really been presented with any negative concerns [from voters] – every indication I was hearing about the vote was very positive," Mr. Hauser said. "I think people just want to see it started."

The new bond issue will be combined with $24.7 million in funding that voters approved for the project in December 2016. The request for the added money happened because of cost increases during the district's yearlong wait for the State Education Department to issue its building permit for the project. The district could not solicit construction bids until it had the permit in hand. Once it did, district officials and John A. Grillo, the school's architect on the project, said they were surprised and dismayed when the construction bids came back 25 percent higher than expected in two separate rounds of bidding this summer.

"I've been doing this for 27 years, and I've never seen anything come close to this — nearly a 25-percent increase in two years," Mr. Grillo said at a citizens forum last week in the same school gym where district residents voted Thursday.

Downsizing the project rather than seeking the additional $4.7 million in funding was considered. But William Jackson, the district's bond attorney, said the district had to be careful about slashing features that voters thought they were getting when they approved the original $24.7 million.

"The general test that we use is you have to deliver the project as originally designed in all material respects," Mr. Jackson said.

Mr. Hauser said the funding would add about $20 to homeowners' tax bills for every $1 million of assessed value on their homes.

When the planned additions and renovations are completed, the 80-year-old school building – which currently houses 228 students in kindergarten through 12th grade – will get new science, technology, English, math, and music rooms, as well as a new regulation-size gym, locker rooms, and cafeteria. Part of the current gym will become an auditorium and the remainder a new school library. The school will also be able to move its prekindergarten into the main building and out of 40-year-old modular classrooms on the west side of the school.

Mr. Hauser said, "The architect has led us to believe it could take about 20 months, which means we would be completed sometime around July 2020, and students would start in the new building that September."

Alanah Johnson, a high school junior who has attended the Bridgehampton School since prekindergarten, said Thursday afternoon that she was hoping the vote would pass.

"I won't still be here when it's done, but I hope it's approved," Alanah said, standing outside the gym as voting went on. "This is a small school. Everyone is like family here. There's been a lot of talk about the expansion." 

Mr. Hauser said neither school officials nor Mr. Grillo had discussed exactly what would have been cut from the plans if the new funding had not been obtained.

"We would only cross that bridge when we had to," Mr. Hauser said.

Parents and school officials who spoke at last week's forum cited an array of reasons why they felt the expansion is necessary. They gave examples of the overcrowded classrooms that are now divided in two by temporary partitions, children having to take tests in the hallways, and how the shortage of space constrained the school's ability to add more student programming and activities.

One school district resident, Phillipe Cheng, said, "It's a financial question, yes, but more so it's a human question. . . . It has a human face. Lives are changed here. . . . This school district is striving to make a difference in kids' lives. See beyond the numbers. . . . Let's all make a difference."

Lillian Tyree-Johnson, the vice president of the Bridgehampton School Board, drew applause when she said, "We're the only school district on the East End that has not done capital improvement in the last 25 years, and we are direly in need. . . . We're asking for what we need. It is not a wish list."  

Baby Gear Swap

Did junior grow so fast he never got to wear that super-cute “I’ve got an awesome mom” onesie? Not sure what to do with the nearly new stroller your little bundle of joy refused to ride in? 

The answer may lie in the Children’s Museum of the East End’s annual baby gear swap on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bridgehampton. New and expectant parents will find strollers, cribs, new and gently used clothing, and more at the swap, and early childhood educators will be on hand to share information.

Those with gear to donate have been asked to call the museum or email [email protected]. The event is free, but it does not include admission to the museum. 

Tasty Apple Treats

Apples and cupcakes will be on the menu this weekend at the Montauk Library. Kids 2 to 5 will celebrate the first day of fall on Saturday at 1 p.m. with an apple story time and craft, and then decorate cupcakes to look like apples. At 3 p.m., children 6 and older will take over the cupcake stations, using supplies provided by the library to make more treats with an autumn theme. Advance registration is required for both programs. 

Emojis, Pollock, and Essays

Fall wreaths, emoji Mason jars, and artwork inspired by Jackson Pollock are among the children and teen offerings at the East Hampton Library this week. 

High school students will use recycled materials to make wreaths during a program on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. On Tuesday, kids in sixth through eighth grades will get the materials they need to make mini Mason jars look like emojis at 4 p.m. Littler artists ages 3 to 5 can unleash their inner action painter during a Pollock-themed Messy Masterpieces workshop on Wednesday at 4 p.m. A dog story time and craft for ages 4 to 6 will take place next Thursday at 4 p.m. Advance sign-up is required for all of the above.

Also next Thursday, high school seniors can book half-hour college essay tutoring sessions between 3 and 5 p.m. Sessions will also be offered on Oct. 4, 11, and 18. Tutoring is open to all seniors, but preference will be given to residents of the East Hampton Library District. 

Over at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton on Wednesday at 4 p.m., kids 7 to 12 will learn to make advanced paper airplanes including, the library promises, “a world record-holder for longest flight.” Children 4 and older will make planet sun catchers during a program on Friday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m.

Children’s Fair

The biggest of East Hampton Library’s offerings for kids this week is its annual children’s fair on Sunday from 2 to 5:30 p.m. in the field at 555 Montauk Highway in Amagansett. 

The fair, which happens the day after the library’s Authors Night fund-raiser, includes carnival-type rides, inflatables, games, crafts with book themes, performers, treats, and a host of children’s book authors signing their books. Among the dozens of authors expected to attend are Susan Verde with her “Rock ’n’ Roll Soul,” Billy Baldwin with “Wipeout the Wave,” G.B. Gurland with “The Secret Files of Phineas Foster,” Elizabeth Doyle Carey with “Mayday,” from the Junior Lifeguards series, and Cynthia Bardes with “Pansy in Africa.” 

The fair is free, and copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase. 

This week’s family movies at the library will be “Beauty and the Beast,” today at 4 p.m., and “Planes,” next Thursday at the same time. Today at 2 p.m., someone from the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will visit the library with a 

presentation on nocturnal animals for children 4 and up. 

Tomorrow at the library, kids in sixth through eighth grade can use Washi tape to turn flip-top tins into colorful little carrying cases. The program begins at 3:30 p.m. 

In a Storytime Yoga session with Ms. Verde on Tuesday at 11 a.m., kids 5 and older will become part of the story as they practice different poses and breathing exercises. Toddlers 2 to 3 years old will try out various postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques, and then do a craft in a yoga class next Thursday at 1 p.m. 

Children 5 and older will use Mason jars, shells, sand, and plants to make light-up “aquariums” in a workshop on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Advance registration is required for all but the children’s fair. 

Puppets at Bay Street

Goat on a Boat’s puppet theater series continues at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor with two productions this week. First, the Columbia Marionette Theater will present “Cinderella” on Saturday at 11 a.m., and next Thursday it will be the Robert Rogers Puppet Company and “The Bugtown Follies,” also at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $15 to $25 online or at the box office. 

Children 4 to 7 who want to put on puppet shows of their own might be interested in Bay Street’s Puppet Power theater camp, which runs from Monday through Friday, Aug. 17. Campers will learn about and play with an assortment of puppets and work with a teaching artist to create their own puppets, sets, and stories. 

Older children ages 9 to 12 will explore a kid-friendly version of a Shakespeare play in a camp that runs from Aug. 20 to 24 and culminates with a performance for friends and family on Bay Street’s stage. 

Theater camps meet from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and cost $475 per week.

Bay Street is also offering a series of teen master classes this month. Participants will analyze a play and study a scene on Wednesday. Directing will be the focus on Aug. 21, and on Aug. 28 attention will turn to “making a monologue.” Each class runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $135 for a single class, $250 for two, and $350 for all three. 

Stranger and Stranger

It’s not every kid who can watch the creepy “Stranger Things” series on Netflix, but those who do may know that it’s based loosely on mysterious things said to have taken place at Camp Hero in Montauk. With that in mind, the Montauk Library has invited kids in fourth grade and above to make their own “Stranger Things” jewelry using Shrinky Dinks paper on Saturday from 3 to 4:30 p.m., with a 1980s playlist setting the tone. 

Kids in first grade and above can play Wii Sports and Mario Kart at the library on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Snacks will be served. 

Live frogs, toads, bugs, a bunny, mice, reptiles, hermit crabs, and even a chinchilla will be on hand at the library on Friday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m. during a program for kids 4 and older. 

Drawing at the Parrish

At the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, a drawing course for children 10 and older will have students exploring the galleries and applying some of the drawing techniques they see to their own work. The class will meet Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The cost is $110, including materials. Members pay $85. 

Sculpture and Disco

Kids who take part in an instrument-making workshop this afternoon at 4:30 at the Southampton Arts Center will be invited to take their creations back to the center to join in a family concert on Aug. 23. 

An outdoor story time today at 5:30 p.m. will mark National Book Lovers Day.

Next Thursday at 3:30 p.m., children will work with Giancarlo Biagi, a marble sculptor, to cast their hands or feet in sand in a style inspired by the late Costantino Nivola. 

After that, at 4:30, they can shake their hands and feet at an afternoon family dance party with Baby Loves Disco.

The above programs are free, but the arts center has asked for sign-up ahead of time for the workshops.

Hurray for Libraries!

The Amagansett Library has a singing, dancing, story-filled celebration of libraries planned for Saturday at 3 p.m. Alexair Dreams Storytelling, an outfit from South Ozone Park, Queens, will headline. Advance sign-up has been requested.

“Three Billy Goats”

In the final puppet show of the Goat on a Boat summer series at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, the Puppet Art Theater Company of California will present “Three Billy Goats Gruff” on Saturday. Show time is 11 a.m., and tickets start at $15. 

Sea People, Snap Circuits

Inspired by days at the ocean, maybe sand castles, or all those whale sightings reported off the beach lately, kids 4 and older will create their own imaginary sea people in an art program tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the East Hampton Library. Also tomorrow, sixth through eighth graders will use string as their medium in an art session beginning at 3:30 p.m.

With an iffy forecast for Saturday, the library’s afternoon movie, “The Muppets,” at 1:30 might be the perfect thing to do. 

On Sunday, high school students will get to use recycled materials to make wind chimes during a program from 3 to 5 p.m. 

A Snap Circuits electronics workshop for kids ages 7 and older will ease them into that thinking time of year on Tuesday at 4 p.m. — either a fun after-school activity or one to turn the brain power back on before the school bell rings, depending on where you go.

The young-adult librarian will face off against high school students in a test of pop culture trivia using the Kahoot! app next Thursday at 5 p.m. Participants should take their smartphones. There’s a “secret prize” promised for the winner. 

Rocks and Such

A session on sedimentary rocks for ages 4 and up at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton will finish with a tasty rock-like creation tomorrow at noon. On Tuesday, kids in sixth grade and up can fashion their own Shrinky Dink creations from 3:30 to 5 p.m.