Beach day, a beloved end-of-year outing many South Fork students look forward to for months, will not be on the calendar this year for sixth through eighth graders at the Springs School. The decision to discontinue the tradition was announced at a school board meeting on May 7.

While kindergarten through fifth grade enjoy the annual tradition at local bay beaches, the middle schoolers spend the day at the ocean. Therein lies the problem, said Debra Winter, the school’s superintendent.

“It’s mainly a safety issue,” she said, in response to several complaints from parents, many of whom have fond memories of their own beach days when they were Springs School students.

“Teachers are refusing to supervise now,” Ms. Winter explained, pointing to the sheer numbers of students for whom they are responsible. Today’s sixth through eighth grades each comprise about 60 to 70 students versus the 20 or 30 kids per grade a couple of decades ago, she said, adding that it is also now mandated that the teachers on duty must be able to swim.

In grappling with the safety issue, the superintendent said she sought the advice of John Ryan Sr., the 82-year-old who implemented and oversees the town’s longstanding Junior Lifeguard program, which trains children 9 and older at ocean beaches. 

Because of the danger of rip currents, “He does not recommend that schools take students to the ocean anymore,” Ms. Winter said. 

Ms. Winter also pointed out that kids often text their friends from other schools and tell them to join them at the beach. Suddenly, she said, it’s an enormous, unwieldy group of teenagers, with teachers stressed out by the responsibility of keeping everyone safe.

David Caldwell, whose daughter is in eighth grade at the school, described the decision to end beach day as “another East Hampton tradition scuttled by landlubbers’ bureaucratic emotional decisions.”

The superintendent said she looked into alternatives such as a day at the pool at the Montauk Downs State Park, but the pool does not open until the end of June. The Splish Splash water park in Calverton was another possibility, but she was concerned that option could be too expensive for some families. 

Mr. Caldwell and other parents have already taken to Facebook to express their frustration over the decision. Rather than “blowing it up on Facebook,” Ms. Winter suggested that parents and students angry about this development make an appointment to see her.

Spending plans totaling almost $193 million for the 2018-19 academic year were approved on Tuesday by voters in school districts from Montauk to Bridgehampton. Budgets in all of those school districts came in below the state-mandated tax cap. 

Perhaps the most significant nod of approval came in East Hampton, where voters green-lighted an $8.9 million bond referendum to cover the purchase of a three-acre property on Springs-Fireplace Road for a school bus depot and vocational education center. Approval of the project not only allows residents on Cedar Street to breathe easier now that the depot will be built elsewhere, but it signals a push by school officials to provide in-district training for students who want to pursue a future in service trades rather than attending college. With several local service industries already committed to providing training and licensing at the proposed vocational educational facility, East Hampton could be a leader in a model high school of the future. Richard Burns, the district superintendent, said the project’s estimated date of completion is 2020. There were 459 votes in favor and 158 votes against.  

On school boards, voters also selected new members in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Sagaponack, and returned incumbents for additional terms in seven districts.

East Hampton

In East Hampton, where two seats were available, Sarah Minardi, a newcomer, was the highest vote-getter with 467. Christina DeSanti, the board’s current vice president, retained her seat with 436 votes. Jeffrey Erickson received 241 votes. Ms. Minardi will be the only board member with a child in the elementary school.

“I’m excited to be a part of this important team and to carry on and expand upon the good work the current school board has made their mainstay,” Ms. Minardi said on Tuesday after hearing the news. “I’m also very energized to be a voice for John M. Marshall Elementary School. . . . I’m looking forward to learning from this group as well as bringing my own ideas into the mix.” 

With a vote of 532 to 89, the East Hampton School District’s $68.9 million budget proposal was approved. The budget reflects an almost $1 million increase over this year. 

Amagansett

Budget and voting season is rarely uneventful in this tiny district.

The approximately $10.75 million budget for 2018-19 was approved, 171 votes to 74. However, all eyes were on the battle for the one available school board seat for a three-year term. Dawn Rana-Brophy, the incumbent, narrowly retained that spot with 134 votes, defeating Mary Eames, who received 104 votes. Ms. Rana-Brophy and Ms. Eames had faced off last year in a tightly contested race that saw last-minute write-ins emerge, Ms. Eames being one of them. Although Ms. Rana-Brophy prevailed last year as well, she had finished in third place, which only secured her spot for a one-year term. She was back on the ballot this year along with Ms. Eames, who declared herself an official candidate. The latter has been a regular at school board meetings, where she has continually questioned the fiscal responsibility of the administration and the board. 

Voters also approved two additional propositions. The first, to authorize $107,000 from an energy and technology capital reserve fund for technical upgrades, passed, 193 to 48. A proposition to authorize spending $100,000 from a capital reserve fund to replace a school bus was also approved with 200 votes in favor and 43 against.

Springs

Despite a low-level campaign by school critics to vote down the 2018-19 budget of $28.9 million, it was approved with 269 saying yes and 151 saying no.

The $760,610 increase included a $277,000 contingency plan to cover faculty salaries should federal funding be eliminated.

Voters also approved $150,000 to purchase two new wheelchair-accessible school buses to replace outdated ones; 271 were in favor, 149 against.

Barbara Dayton, the board’s president, who ran unopposed, was re-elected with 332 votes.

Montauk

There were no surprises in Montauk, where the $19.8 million budget for next year sailed through with a vote of 94 to 14, and Lee White, an incumbent running unopposed for his third five-year term, won it with 102 votes. There was one write-in vote for Karen Kuneth.

Although the budget was up by $970,000 from this year’s, $800,000 of that constitutes a payment into the school’s capital reserve fund, which the district hopes to use next year to replace its aging portable units.

Bridgehampton

Bridgehampton’s $16.3 million budget passed with 100 voting for it and 44 against. The budget reflected an almost $2 million increase over this year, of which almost $1 million is the first payment on the $24.7 million bond approved by voters in 2016 to finance the school expansion and renovation, expected to begin on July 1.

Three incumbents on the school board, Ronald White, the current president, Lillian Tyree-Johnson, the vice president, and Douglas DeGroot, all running unopposed, retained their seats with 130, 129, and 126 votes, respectively.

Sag Harbor

Voters said yes to a $41.9 million budget for 2018-19. There were 353 votes in favor and 162 against. Increased security measures and enhancing the district’s special education programs account for much of the almost $2 million increase.

Voters also approved a proposition to reduce the district’s current eligibility for free transportation for students from one mile to a half-mile distance from school. That was approved by 342 votes to 170.

For the school board, Susan Schaefer, an incumbent, and Jordana Sobey, a newcomer, were voted in with 436 and 389 votes, respectively. They ran unopposed.

Sagaponack

Voters in Sagaponack unanimously passed the school’s $1.53 million budget proposal, with 87 votes. Sagaponack’s budget reflected a decrease of $165,890 when compared to this year. The student population and projected enrollment for next year are down and therefore less money will be required for out-of-district tuition, school supplies and equipment, and transportation.

Two first-time candidates were running for one seat on the school board. Lauren Thayer was the winner with 64 votes. Diane Payne got 26. 

Voters also approved a one-year tuition contract for the Sag Harbor School District to educate Sagaponack’s preschool and fourth through sixth-grade students, and a one-year tuition contract with the East Hampton School District to educate only fourth through sixth graders.

Wainscott

The Wainscott School District’s $3.33 million budget for the 2017-18 school year was approved with 29 votes in favor and 0 against. The budget showed an increase of $383,938 from this year, which is the first increase after the board has successfully reduced its budgets for the previous six years.

With no challengers on the ballot, Kelly Anderson was re-elected to the school board with 29 votes.

Block Party at CMEE

The Children’s Museum of the East End will host a community block party on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The event is open to families with children of all ages and will feature a variety of block activities, crafts, and games. It is free for members and $14 for all others.

Salamanders, Birds, and Compasses

On Saturday at 10 a.m., Andy Sabin, the president of the board of directors of the South Fork Natural History Museum, will lead participants into a freshwater pond for a chance to see the larval aquatic stage of the endangered eastern tiger salamander before it comes on land to live.

Also on Saturday, at 1 p.m., children ages 8 and up can participate in an interactive game to learn about animal adaptation and the possible pathways from which avian flight evolved.

On Monday at 10:30 a.m., kids ages 8 and up can learn how to use a compass to help them navigate their way out of the woods. There will be $5 material fee.

Tests, Movies, Spa Products

High school students can take a practice Regents exam in earth science, chemistry, biology, physics, algebra 1 and 2, or geometry on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Hampton Library. Tests will be proctored and scored by Connor Christian from Hamptons Strategies for Success.

Family movies on the library’s schedule this week are “Peter Rabbit” on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and “Alice in Wonderland” next Thursday at 4 p.m.

Ghost stories will be the focus of a writing workshop for high schoolers on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Kids ages 4 and up can decorate Star Wars cupcakes on Tuesday at 4 p.m.  

On Wednesday at 4 p.m., children ages 5 and up can learn how to make sugar body scrubs with essential oils and other natural ingredients.

Attention Book Lovers, Patriots

The Battle of the Books, a reading trivia program for students entering sixth through ninth grades, is coming soon to the John Jermain Memorial Library. Prospective participants can learn all about the weekly summer trivia sessions, required reading material, and the chance to represent the library in a countywide trivia contest on Aug. 12 at a kickoff party on Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. 

At the Montauk Library, kids in first grade and up can stop in on Saturday between 3 and 4 p.m. to make patriotic-theme crafts such as star-spangled slime and patriotic chocolate-covered pretzels.

Jerel D. Cokley has been appointed the new assistant superintendent for business for the East Hampton School District. Mr. Cokley will start on July 2, replacing Isabel Madison, who will retire in August following 14 years as the chief financial manager of the district. 

After graduating from Xavier High School in Manhattan, Mr. Cokley attended Seton Hall University for his undergraduate degree. While there, he played on the university’s N.C.A.A. Division I basketball team from 2001 to 2004. He went on to earn a master’s degree in school district business leadership from L.I.U. Post, and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in education there. He expects to graduate in 2020. 

This year he is training in the New York State Association of School Business Officials Leadership Academy.

Over the span of 12 years, Mr. Cokley worked in the New York City Department of Education and, most recently, he was an assistant superintendent of finance in a Westchester County district that oversees four schools. He is also an adjunct professor in L.I.U. Post’s graduate program in educational leadership and administration.

Mr. Cokley lives in Floral Park but has many friends and colleagues who live on the East End. He hopes to move closer east in the near future.

“I am very thankful to join the East Hampton family,” the new assistant superintendent said. “I can’t wait to get started and work with the team to help provide the best educational opportunities for the students while protecting and safeguarding the district’s assets.”

He said he is particularly excited about working in East Hampton given that it is a district into which several others merge.

A swim-a-thon on Saturday at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter, in which 95 middle school-age girls will participate, will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. as a benefit for I-Tri, a nonprofit program that promotes leadership and life skills for girls through encouragement and athletics. 

I-Tri is hoping for the community to come out and support Saturday’s swimmers, who all attend schools from Montauk to Tuckahoe. They are part of a group of 140 middle schoolers who will compete in the Hamptons Youth Triathlon in July, when each girl will attempt a 300-yard bay swim, a seven-mile bike leg, and a mile-and-a-half run. 

The other 45 girls will participate in another swim-a-thon next week at a pool in the William Floyd School District.

All participants are encouraged to raise $50 each through sponsorships by family and friends. According to Cindy Morris, the chief operating officer of I-Tri, the money raised will help offset the cost of a swimming coach who is working with the girls in preparation for their open water swim in July.

“Nobody is required to raise the money,” said Ms. Morris. “Whatever they can raise is great and we’ve even made it clear to those who may not have access to a sponsor, that we’ll find someone for them. Everyone will feel like they’re a part of this program.”

The swim-a-thon will mark the end of the girls’ indoor pool training, which began in February, when several of the girls did not know how to swim. Now, proficient enough to swim in open water, their training will continue at Long Beach in Sag Harbor. Concurrently, they will also train for their bike ride and run.

“Adolescent girls go through a tough time when they are unsure of who they are, of how they fit in,” Theresa Roden, the founder and executive director of I-Tri, once said in describing the program. “I-Tri gives them a common ground, something they can be a part of that is bigger than themselves. It’s about empowerment.”

Those interested in sponsoring an I-Tri athlete or simply making a donation can do so at itrigirls.org.

Approximately 19 billion pounds of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans every year. Several ocean conservancy groups have cautioned that if we keep polluting at the current rate there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

By that time, Sarah Betuel, an eighth grader at the East Hampton Middle School, will be about 45 years old, which is why she decided to do something right now about this disturbing outlook.

Sarah is spearheading an initiative called Strawless Summer, introduced by the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots nonprofit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world’s oceans and beaches through a powerful activist network. She is the student president of the middle school’s Surfrider Club, overseen by the Long Island chapter of the organization. The club is offered as an after-school activity.

“Our goal is to target all East Hampton restaurants,” Sarah said last week in John Ryan’s classroom on Newtown Lane. Mr. Ryan not only teaches sixth-grade math but, together with Lisa Lawler, a fellow sixth-grade teacher, is also the adviser of the Surfrider Club and a longtime rescue swimmer with East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue.

Members of the after-school club, explained Sarah, will send letters to all restaurants and bars in East Hampton asking them to sign a pledge either to go completely strawless or provide reusable alternatives such as stainless steel or glass, or, upon request, paper or bamboo straws. Letters will be followed up by an in-person visit, she said. 

Helping her at the helm of this environmental campaign will be Maya Guzman, a sixth grader who was also in Mr. Ryan’s classroom last week.  

“If restaurants agree not to use plastic straws over the summer,” said Maya, “then we’ll ask them to advertise their pledge on their websites.” The school’s student government will join in the effort.

To remind middle school students and staffers to do their part in reducing plastic waste, a Surfrider Club mascot sat in the school’s front hall last week: Eli the Turtle, made entirely out of ocean debris, his shell formed from colorful straws crisscrossed over more straws, twine, and pieces of plastic. At a recent beach cleanup in Greenport, the Eastern Long Island Chapter of Surfrider removed 922 straws from the shoreline.

This is not the first time Sarah has championed an environmental push. Two years ago, she wrote a letter to the middle school’s parent advisory committee asking that the Styrofoam plates in the cafeteria be replaced by biodegradable ones. Her request was successful.

She had already written to the parent committee requesting an end to plastic straws in the cafeteria when the Surfrider Strawless Summer initiative was introduced. It was perfect timing for Sarah to  expand her campaign from the cafeteria to the neighborhood, Mr. Ryan said. 

Plastic straws were the target last year of fourth graders in Montauk, when, with the help of their teachers, Chantal Adamcewicz and Kathy Havlik, the stu dents urged a few local restaurants to ban them, and largely succeeded.  Bliss Kitchen was the first to jump onboard. Last week, it was reported that Gosman’s Dock restaurants have also switched to paper straws.

While plastic bags and soda-can rings regularly top the list of hazardous ocean pollutants, few realize that plastic straws are one of the most insidious polluters, because they entangle marine animals and are consumed by fish. A video of scientists removing a straw embedded in the nose of a sea turtle went viral in 2015.

Small and lightweight, straws often fail to make it through the mechanical recycling sorter. As a result, they drop through sorting screens and contaminate recycling loads, or they simply get disposed of as garbage — the evidence of which is clearly visible on many beaches. According to the Ocean Conservancy, based in Washington, D.C., plastic straws and stirrers were number five on a 2013 Ocean Trash Index. National Geographic reported that Americans use an average of 500 million plastic straws a day.

There is a global environmental movement developing, hoping to raise public awareness of this massive problem. Sarah and Maya, along with other young South Fork environmentalists, are certainly doing their part to address plastic pollution. Maya said her motivation to join the after-school Surfrider Club stemmed from her love for animals and desire to help ocean creatures at risk. As for Sarah, who has been president of the club for three years, environmental issues are her passion. “I just want to help and improve the environment,” she said.

Six short plays written and performed by East End middle school students will be presented at Stony Brook Southampton’s Avram Theater on Saturday at 7 p.m. It is the culminating event of the 2018 Young Artists and Writers Project, or YAWP, for middle schoolers.

More than 100 students from Bridgehampton, Pierson, the Ross School, and Shelter Island participated in the playwriting residency this spring. Over the course of two months, they explored the basic elements of dramatic writing: how to develop ideas, characters, themes, dialogue, and scenes. One play from each participating class was then selected for production in the festival, admission to which is free.

The festival represents a collaboration among student playwrights, actors, and designers who have been taught and mentored by theater and writing professionals affiliated with Stony Brook Southampton’s M.F.A. program in creative writing and literature, which created and sponsors the YAWP programs. Professional directors stage the plays, which encompass an array of genres — from comedies to dramas — with subject matter drawn from the students’ own lives.

YAWP is led by Emma Walton Hamilton, the program’s executive director, and Will Chandler, its program director.

“Dramatic writing and production skills give young people unparalleled lessons in communication and collaboration,” Ms. Hamilton said. “They build confidence and have a direct impact on young people’s abilities to become engaged and compassionate citizens in later life. This project represents a wonderful synergy between all the creative disciplines and values about which we are passionate.”

On Monday, sixth through eighth graders at the Springs School will be introduced to #NotForMe, a sexual harassment prevention program developed in conjunction with the Retreat, a nonprofit group in East Hampton offering services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

“The goal of this program is to build awareness about what sexual harassment is, why it is a problem, and what to do if someone is targeted,” said Debra Winter, the school’s superintendent.

In a press release, she explained that the #NotForMe curriculum “provides prevention programming in accordance with New York’s Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) as well as federal Title IX legislation. Our goal is to be clear and direct in defining sexual harassment in an age-appropriate way, and to build awareness that sexualized comments and behavior are not appropriate in school.”

When voters go to the polls on Tuesday to choose new school board members or return incumbents to their posts, those in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton, Springs, Amagansett, Montauk, Sagaponack, and Wainscott School Districts will find 15 official candidates vying for 12 open seats. The only contested races on the ballots are in East Hampton, Amagansett, and Sagaponack. 

East Hampton

In East Hampton, two seats are vacant; an incumbent hopes to retain one of those while two newcomers vie for the other.

Christina DeSanti is the current vice president of the board, on which she has served for six years. If re-elected, this will be her third term. A native of Sag Harbor, Ms. DeSanti graduated from Pierson High School and went on to receive a degree in business management from Ithaca College. She has lived in East Hampton for 24 years, with two sons at the high school, and since 2004 she and her husband have owned and run Dreesen’s Catering in East Hampton.

Ms. DeSanti has been instrumental as a board member in getting East Hampton high schoolers “college ready,” with recent graduates being accepted into top tier schools. Then came a renewed focus on the “career ready” side of an equation mandated by New York State, which asked schools to prepare those pupils not on a college track for careers instead. As a small-business owner, Ms. DeSanti said she appreciates the school’s responsibility to provide these students with marketable skill sets and has been a vocal advocate of the invigorated vocational educational program at the school. Safety and security in school is another issue she is focusing on, as well as substance abuse and mental health. “These are topics of interest to me that I would like to continue to work on, as these are very serious issues affecting our kids today,” she said.

Sarah Minardi was born and raised in East Hampton, like her parents and her paternal grandfather. Ms. Minardi’s mother was a teacher at the John M. Marshall Elementary School for over 30 years and her grandfather, Amasa W. Brooks, was a school board member for several years. 

Ms. Minardi is a licensed real estate broker and said that, “joining the East Hampton School Board feels like a natural progression for me as a young leader and positive influencer in our community. I am a team player but I am also vocal about issues I think are important for the well-being of our children and our community.” She added that, if elected, she plans to bring a fresh voice to the school board, and, as the only member with a child attending the elementary school (with another scheduled to join in three years), she would be able to bring her experiences and knowledge of that particular division to the board. 

Jeffrey Erickson, a sergeant with the East Hampton Village Police Department, is running for a seat on the school board because “I understand the importance of safety and education in our schools. I believe the East Hampton school district would benefit from my experience and knowledge.”

Mr. Erickson is a graduate of the State University at Oswego, where he earned a degree in technology education. 

During his tenure with the police department he has served as a DARE instructor at East Hampton’s elementary and middle schools. He was also the union president of the East Hampton Village Police Benevolent Association for 13 years.  Currently, Mr. Erickson is a team leader with the police emergency service unit.  

“These experiences have provided me with leadership skills, knowledge of collective bargaining, and contract negotiations,” which he said would enable him to make purposeful decisions that reflect the values of the community.

Amagansett

One seat is available in Amagansett as an incumbent faces tough opposition from a vocal critic.

Dawn Rana-Brophy is running for re-election. A native of Amagansett, she attended the Amagansett School, the third generation in her family to do so. Her mother, Virginia Rana, served as school board president for many years. While Ms. Rana-Brophy’s three children attended the school, she was active in leadership roles in the PTA, helping to create the popular fall fair, which still exists. She was appointed to the board in 2016.

“A well-run school district is much different today than in the past, as the state demands greater accountability from their districts, whether the district is small or large,” she explained, adding that school auditors have complimented the district as being well run and fiscally responsible. 

Ms. Rana-Brophy’s foremost goal, if re-elected, would be to select and hire “an outstanding superintendent.” The process is underway as Eleanor Tritt, the current superintendent will retire at the end of June.

Mary A. Eames has become a fixture at Amagansett School Board meetings over the last year. She is a vocal critic of board policies and, especially, of Ms. Tritt, whom she regularly claimed operates more like the employer of the board rather than vice versa, which is usually the case.

She is currently the principal’s secretary at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and also runs a massage therapy business. “I am very good with managing finances and schedules,” she said, adding that she is involved with preparing the budget at the elementary school.

Ms. Eames has been an Amagansett resident for over 45 years. Her children attended the school, and in 1984, she was instrumental in petitioning for the introduction of the 3-year-olds program. Her daughter, now 37, was one of the first students of the program, which still exists today. Ms. Eames has also been involved in community service programs and is currently in her 27th year as an E.M.T. driver and helper. 

At board meetings over the past year, she has taken the board and the superintendent to task over what she says is overspending by employing three administrators for a school district with fewer than 100 children.

Most recently, she has started to record the meetings on her phone and publish them on YouTube because, she said, she wants the answers to her tough questions to be public.

Sag Harbor

In Sag Harbor, two candidates are running for two open seats.

Susan Schaefer was appointed to the board earlier this year to fill the seat vacated by Tommy John Schiavoni when he was elected to the Southampton Town Board. Ms. Schaefer is required to run again, as the seat she inherited expires at the end of June. She is a vice president of Bridgehampton National Bank and serves as the manager of its Bridgehampton branch. She has previously served on the boards of the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce and the Sag Harbor Little League. Despite several attempts to contact her, Ms. Schaefer did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Jordana Sobey is a corporate attorney with over 10 years of experience practicing law. Over the years, she has also been involved in many volunteer activities including providing financial literacy classes to women through Coalition for the Homeless and teaching angel investing to women entrepreneurs. Ms. Sobey received her law degree from Boston University School of Law and undergraduate degree from Tufts University. She has lived in Sag Harbor for over four years with her husband, who is a physician, and their two children, who attend the Sag Harbor Elementary School. Ms. Sobey serves on the board of Goat on a Boat at Bay Street. 

“I’ve been trying to find ways to become part of this amazing community in a more meaningful way since, as someone who works from home, I don’t usually get to interact with the community on a professional level like my husband and friends do whose professions and businesses rely on the local community,” she said about her decision to run for the board. “I also think I can add value as a school board member since, as a transactional attorney, I’m a natural problem solver.” 

Bridgehampton

In an uncontested race, three incumbents will seek re-election for their third three-year terms in Bridgehampton.

Ronald White, who has been president of the board since 2013, is seeking re-election. 

Lillian Tyree-Johnson is seeking her third term on the board, and is now vice president.

Douglas DeGroot, who owns and runs the Hamptons Tennis club on Buckskill Road in East Hampton, has been on the board for the past six years.

None could be reached for comment this week.

Springs

Unless a write-in emerges this week, the one vacant seat in Springs will be filled by the incumbent, Barbara Dayton, who is finishing her first three-year term. For the past two years, she has served as president. 

“I’m running again because I’ve really enjoyed the work that I have been part of there,” she wrote in an email. “I’m very proud of the board’s recent accomplishments — hiring a new superintendent and getting the bond passed for the building expansion, so I’d like to carry on and see the building project through.”

Ms. Dayton also said that she has become more aware of and interested in current educational issues, and is excited about some of the new initiatives being adopted by schools. “So I’d also like to be there to advocate for our administrators and teachers in their professional development,” she said.

Montauk

Lee White is uncontested in Montauk and will retain his seat for another five-year term. Despite attempts to reach him, Mr. White did not respond to requests for comment.

Sagaponack

One vacant seat has emerged in Sagaponack as Joseph P. Louchheim, the board’s president, declared himself unavailable after his term ends on June 30. Two newcomers will vie for the spot.

Lauren Thayer is a fourth-generation Sagaponack School graduate, and as of the fall, her two children, ages 5 and 7, will also be enrolled there. 

“I am passionate about our Little Red School and Sagaponack Village. I will never forget the unique education it provided me,” she said.

Over the past eight years she has worked with the school board as a member of the Shared Decision Making Committee, which was responsible for implementing a free prekindergarten program for Sagaponack residents, the addition of kindergarten, which allowed residents to stay in the district, and introducing a robotics program.

Ms. Thayer said she continues to promote the school’s mission to encourage outdoor play and learning by working with the Madoo Conservancy and the school board to develop a school garden with a focus on local farming and native plants.

“I also helped organize a 2018 open house with the teachers that helped raise community awareness of the school and . . . assisted in creating a video campaign to capture the unique and special school we have,” she wrote in an email. She believes that resulted in an increase in enrollment from 9 to 16 students.

The many reasons she offered as to why the community should elect her included the fact that she has children attending the school, her long ties to the school and the community, that she is a member of the Village Zoning Board, and a small-business owner — her family has owned Thayer’s Hardware and Patio in Bridgehampton since 1946.

Diana Payne also has two children at the school. Since 2007, she and her husband have owned and run a plumbing company, and overseen the marketing, branding, advertising, and graphic design for Marilee’s Farm Stand and the Foster family’s growing Sagaponack Farm Distillery. 

“Having worked extensively for homeowners and farmers, I recognize the complex issues faced by those who own here and those who farm the land, and will ensure their concerns are addressed and their voices are heard,” she said.

Ms. Payne also served on the school’s Shared Decision Making Committee, having being elected to the spot by parents in 2015. Currently, the group is tasked with constructing the school garden, which Ms. Payne describes as “a project that will serve as an awesome learning resource and educational opportunity for our students.” 

Ms. Payne said she is running for a seat on the board “for my daughters’ future, but also on behalf of any child who may have the opportunity to be part of our special school community.”

Wainscott

Kelly Anderson, the incumbent in Wainscott, is throwing her hat in the ring once more this year, hoping to serve her third three-year term. She is uncontested.

Voters from Montauk to Bridgehampton approved their respective school district budgets for the 2018-19 year on Tuesday. Polls closed at 8 p.m. in East Hampton, Amagansett, Montauk, Bridgehampton, and Wainscott, 8:30 in Sagaponack, and at 9 p.m. in Springs and Sag Harbor. Budgets in all eight school districts came in below the state-mandated tax cap. Voters also selected new school board members in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Sagaponack, and returned incumbents for additional terms in seven districts. 

East Hampton

Christina DeSanti, the current vice president of the East Hampton School Board, retained her seat with 436 votes, while the other available seat was won by Sarah Minardi, a newcomer, with 467 votes. Jeffrey Erickson got 241 votes. Ms. Minardi becomes the only board member with a child in the elementary school.

With a vote of 532 to 89, the East Hampton School District's $68.9 million budget proposal was approved. The budget reflects an almost $1 million increase over this year.

Also greenlighted was a referendum for an $8.9 million bond to cover the purchase of a three-acre property on Springs-Fireplace Road, and the subsequent construction of a school bus depot and vocational education center there. That proposition was decided by 459 votes in favor and 158 votes against.  

Amagansett

Budget and voting season is rarely uneventful in this tiny district.

The approximately $10.75 million budget for 2018-19 was approved, 171 votes to 74. However, all eyes were on the battle for the one available school board seat, which had been retained last year by Dawn Rana-Brophy in a tightly contested race. Having finished in third place last year, her spot was secured only for a one-year term. Back on the ballot this year, she faced opposition from Mary Eames, a write-in candidate last year who was defeated. Ms. Eames declared herself an official candidate this year. She has been a regular at school board meetings, where she has continually questioned the fiscal responsibility of the administration and the board. In the end, however, Ms. Rana-Brophy won a full three-year term, receiving 134 votes to Ms. Eames's 104.

Voters also approved two additional propositions. The first authorized the expenditure of $107,000 from a 2007 energy and technology capital reserve fund to purchase and install technology systems at the school. The second allowed for the use of a maximum of $100,000 from a 2015 renovations and upgrades capital reserve fund for the purchase of a new school bus.

Springs

The 2018-19 budget of $28.9 million was approved with 269 saying yes and 151 saying no.

The $760,610 increase included a $277,000 contingency plan to cover faculty salaries should federal funding be eliminated.

Voters also approved spending $150,000 to purchase two new wheelchair-accessible school buses to replace outdated ones; 271 were in favor, 149 against.

Barbara Dayton, the board's president, who ran unopposed, was re-elected with 332 votes.

Montauk

Once again, no surprises in Montauk, where the $19.8 million budget for next year sailed through with a vote of 94 to 14, and Lee White, an incumbent running unopposed for his third five-year term, won it with 102 votes. There was one write-in vote for Karen Kuneth.

Although the budget was up by $970,000 from this year's, $800,000 of that constitutes a payment into the school's capital reserve fund, which the district hopes to use next year to replace its aging portable units.

Bridgehampton

Bridgehampton's $16.3 million budget passed with 100 voting for it and 44 against. The budget reflected an almost $2 million increase over this year, of which almost $1 million is the first payment on the $24.7 million bond approved by voters in 2016 to finance the school expansion and renovation, expected to begin on July 1.

Three incumbents on the school board, Ronald White, the current president, Lillian Tyree-Johnson, the vice president, and Douglas DeGroot, all running unopposed, retained their seats with 130, 129, and 126 votes, respectively.

Sagaponack

Voters in Sagaponack unanimously passed the school's $1.53 million budget proposal, with 87 votes. Sagaponack's budget reflected a decrease of $165,890 when compared to this year. The student population and projected enrollment for next year are down and therefore less money will be required for out-of-district tuition, school supplies and equipment, and transportation.

Two first-time candidates were running for one seat on the school board. Lauren Thayer was the winner with 64 votes. Diane Payne got 26. 

Voters also approved a one-year tuition contract with the Sag Harbor School District to educate the Sagaponack district's preschool and fourth through sixth-grade students, and a one-year tuition contract with the East Hampton School District to educate only fourth through sixth graders.

Wainscott

The Wainscott School District's $3.33 million budget for the 2017-18 school year was approved with 29 votes in favor and 0 against. The budget showed an increase of $383,938 from this year, which is the first increase after the board has successfully reduced its budgets for the previous six years.

With no challengers on the ballot, Kelly Anderson was re-elected to the school board with 29 votes.

Sag Harbor

Voters said yes to a $41.9 million budget for 2018-19 with a total of 353 votes in favor and 162 against. Increased security measures and enhancing the district's special education programs account for much of the almost $2 million increase.

Voters also said yes to a proposition to reduce the district's current eligibility for free transportation for students from one mile to a half-mile distance from school. That was approved by 342 votes to 170.

For school board, Susan Schaefer, an incumbent, and Jordana Sobey, a newcomer, were voted in with 436 and 389 votes, respectively. They ran unopposed.