Citing a need for more time to confer with its attorney, the Sag Harbor School Board voted Monday to postpone reviewing a policy that governs the videotaping of meetings.

“The board felt it was important to have access to the attorney for the district, and he was not available to have a discussion with the board until the next meeting,” Chris Tice, the board’s vice president, said. “We need a resolution to allow the board to wait until the next meeting.”

The current policy calls for meetings to be videotaped for later viewing by the public, with public comment periods the exception. Cameras are turned off when members of the public get up to speak.

The controversial issue was decided by a 4-to-3 vote in December and emerged as a topic of debate during the most recent school board elections. At both of those points in time, board members debated whether the district could be held liable for what was said by community members during public comment periods.

The policy mandates an annual review of the videotaping policy itself. According to Monday’s resolution, passed by a 6-to-0 vote, if the board does not change or rescind the policy governing videotaping during its next meeting, then it will continue in effect as currently written.

The East Hampton School District is embarking on a study of its transportation system following discussions at two school board meetings that yielded a general agreement that the district is on the right path in running its own bus system as opposed to hiring the services of a contractor.

But Richard Burns, the district’s superintendent, said during Tuesday’s school board meeting that he suspects there are ways to do things better, and is planning a public forum for sometime in October, most likely the board’s second meeting of the month on Oct. 20, to present data and gather public feedback.

One topic of debate seems to be the bus depot, which occupies a commercial property on Route 114 that is leased from a private company for more than $103,000 a year. School board members and administrators are wondering whether it makes sense to continue to lease a bus facility or find a way to purchase land for such a purpose. East Hampton has two more years on its bus depot lease.

“Every year it goes up,” said Isabel Madison, East Hampton’s assistant superintendent for business.

In 2010, voters in East Hampton overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have seen the district purchase the former Verizon building on King Street for more than $4.5 million to use as a bus depot. East Hampton has been operating its own transportation department since 2006, when its contractor, Schaefer and Sons, closed its business.

According to its 2015-16 budget, East Hampton will spend about $1.6 million on transportation this year. Ms. Madison said the largest percentage of that is spent on salaries and benefits for the district’s 28 full-time and four part-time bus drivers, many of whom also take on other duties during the school day such as running copy machine rooms and staffing the cafeterias.

East Hampton officials compared the district’s fleet of 35 buses, as well as its overall size and student population, to that of the Hampton Bays District. According to Ms. Madison, Hampton Bays spends about $2 million to contract out for its bus services but is considering taking its transportation system in-house.

“There are certain things you don’t have any control over when you’re contractual because you are always at the mercy of the companies,” she said. “I found the data from when we moved from contractual to being our own department. . . . Obviously, it is the decision of the board if you want to stay in the business of having our own transportation department, but I think [an outside contractor] would be more expensive than what it is now.”

The data Ms. Madison was referring to was not made available during the board meeting on Tuesday.

During a similar discussion on Aug. 4, Mr. Burns said, “ I think we need to come up with a long-range plan. . . . There are many questions that are coming up in terms of the bus depot. Is it large enough? Is it safe? The most basic question for us is should we be in the transportation business?”

But the board seemed to agree on Tuesday that the district is better off running its own buses. John Ryan Sr., who returned to the board this year after serving six previous terms on the school board, recalled that there were really no reasonable options for transportation toward the end of his previous tenure on the board.

“We were left with one vendor who was taking advantage of us already — this is my opinion and maybe I’m wrong — so we were forced to start this,” he said. “But I believe even as we started it, we saved the district money. The other very, very important thing is I believe that we give a better job to our bus drivers than the private companies do.”

Rich Wilson, another board member, and Christina DeSanti, the board vice president, both said the in-house screening of bus drivers is extremely important. J.P. Foster, the board president, raised the issue of transportation to activities and sports.

“If we need a bus to go somewhere, you can do that. If you call a company, not only may you not get it, but it would be a line item in the budget of an above- and-beyond cost,” Mr. Foster said.

Mr. Burns summed it up by saying that running the district’s own buses “is more efficient and safer,” but added, “I think we have to look at what is the most efficient way of running the bus department. I think we need input from the community.”

The entire executive board of the Sag Harbor Parent Teacher Student Association resigned this week in the wake of apparent community-wide disagreement about whether this year’s Pierson Middle and High School homecoming festivities should include a bonfire.­ ­Aura Winarick, the P.T.S.A. president, Mary Anne Miller, its vice president, and three other board members announced their resignations Wednesday morning.

Homecoming is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10. The festivities originated with a booster club that existed about 20 years ago, but were soon absorbed by the P.T.S.A. with some support from the school administration. For many years a bonfire was held at Long Beach, although several times in recent memory it had to be canceled and the celebration moved indoors due to inclement weather.

Prior to their resignation, Ms. Winarick and Ms. Miller had attempted to clarify what they said was incomplete and premature homecoming information announced by a school official. They were referring to Jeff Nichols, the Pierson principal, who said at an Aug. 17 school board meeting that there would not be a bonfire this year. Critics, including at least one school board member, advocated for a bonfire, saying its elimination would upset the community.

After the school board meeting, the P.T.S.A. issued a statement saying a bonfire had “not been a priority in this year’s planning.” This drew the public’s attention and vociferous criticism in last week’s Sag Harbor Express. On Monday, during a meeting with school officials, Ms. Winarick and Ms. Miller said no final decisions had been made. The P.T.S.A. had plans, they said, to convene a formal committee, including students, to finalize this year’s setup. By Wednesday, however, they issued the following statement.

“Our processes and communication to date have been met with such resistance in the press and has been so scrutinized by certain groups that we realize we cannot effectively achieve the good we want to bring into the school community. We are choosing instead to spend time with our families and loved ones and to serve our community in other ways.”

A bonfire is just one aspect of the annual event, which has included a parade, dance and chant competitions, skits, and athletic games among other activities.

Mr. Nichols had suggested twice, once during the Aug. 17 school board meeting and once at Monday’s meeting with the P.T.S.A. leaders, that a bonfire near the water is not a safe way to celebrate school spirit. The bonfire had also reportedly been a venue for student misbehavior, he said.

  “The history and traditions are important, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change it for the better,” Mr. Nichols said Monday.

Following the board’s resignation Wednesday, Ms. Winarick said in an email she had received word from the regional P.T.S.A. organization that state and regional P.T.S.A. insurance policies “have bonfires on their ‘red light list,’ meaning they are prohibited because of risk and danger.”

“We’re so sad about losing our P.T.S.A. executive board,” Katy Graves, Sag Harbor’s superintendent, said by phone yesterday. “It’s a real blow to the district. I was very surprised and saddened by their decision to leave. It will be a real challenge to replace such a talented and child-centered group.”  The first general P.T.S.A. meeting is planned for Sept. 29, but the future of that meeting is uncertain without an executive board.

Monday night’s meeting of the Springs School Board was a full one with the appointment of a new assistant principal and the announcement of the resignation of a senior district official, who will be replaced by an interim business administrator. The meeting also heard a report on enrollment, which keeps rising.

The new assistant principal is Christine Cleary, a teacher in Springs since 2006 who lives in the community and has a daughter in fourth grade. She replaces Cleopatra Panagiosoulis, who resigned in July after two years with the school.

Ms. Cleary holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education, with certifications in elementary education and school district administration. She began her career as a public affairs officer for the United States Customs Office at the World Trade Center, and joined the New York City Teaching Fellows Program just six months before Sept. 11. She has taught at P.S. 85 in the Bronx and the Child Development Center of the Hamptons in Wainscott.

“I’m very excited,” Ms. Cleary said. “I love the Springs community, and I very much look forward to serving the Springs School in the role of assistant principal.”

The senior district official is Thomas Primiano, the treasurer and business administrator. His resignation is effective Sept. 18. He had been in Springs for three years and has accepted an assistant superintendent position in a Nassau County school district. The announcement was met with good wishes and thanks from school board members, community members, and other school officials at the meeting.

In his place, the board voted 4-to-0 to appoint Carl O. Fraser interim business administrator. Mr. Fraser, who previously worked as a consultant on special projects for the district superintendent, John J. Finello, had earlier tackled problems related to auditing and attendance. He had also been an assistant superintendent for business in the East Islip School District while Mr. Finello was that district’s superintendent. Mr. Fraser will need a waiver from the New York State Education Department because he is retired. Unless he receives a waiver, his employment would be capped at 42 days or $30,000 per calendar year. His per-diem rate was approved as $750 from Sept. 21 to June 20, 2016.

With school about to start, the board learned that the number of students in prekindergarten through eighth grade is anticipated to be 782. In June, the district had 745 students enrolled. A year-over-year comparison shows that 747 students had registered by this time in August of 2014. The largest increases are occurring in grades four and seven, which would have more than 90 students at this point.

“We are a little pressed for space here, and we monitor these things rather closely,” Eric Casale, the school principal, said during the meeting.

Asked by Tim Frazier, a board member, where the enrollment increase is coming from, Mr. Casale said he attributes it to “an influx of students from different districts.”

“A number of students are coming from the upper elementary grades,” Mr. Casale said. “It’s nothing unusual — it’s just that the numbers are growing.”

The district is also expecting to pay more in tuition for its high school students, with 296 students from Springs set to attend East Hampton High School, an increase over the June high school enrollment of 269 students. In its 2015-16  budget, the district planned for tuition for 298 high school students. Tuition to East Hampton is $24,648 per high school student in the regular education program and $68,868 per student in special education.

The growing enrollment had some in the crowd worried about how the school would cope with the growing numbers.

“What are we doing for education as far as staff support, with 25 minimum in a classroom?” asked Pat Brabant, a parent. Referring to the appointment of an interim business administrator, Mr. Brabant asked, “Are we looking for more assistant teachers in there or are we going to spend it all on administrative pay?”

After the meeting, Mr. Casale explained that the district had purchased licenses that would allow Internet downloads of materials such as textbooks for the increasing number of students. He said that, at least so far, classes are all at 24 or 25 students at most.

According to enrollment projections compiled by the Western Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, enrollment in Springs was expected to be at 732 in the 2015-16 school year, 736 in 2016-17, and 717 in 2017-18. The existing student population has already surpassed those projections.

The enrollment update came less than a week after the district’s facilities committee met for the third time to discuss what many say are overcrowded conditions in the school building. The discussion was brief since many committee members were absent. However, one of the school’s architects, Roger Smith, handed out a packet showing the fiscal impact of either a $15 million or $20 million bond for capital improvements. Mr. Smith also handed out a questionnaire to collect feedback on what priorities the facilities committee members feel the school should address.

Committee members were asked to fill out the questionnaire anonymously and return it for discussion.

Pamela Bicket, a facilities committee member, pitched what she called a “short term fix.” It included changing the existing modular buildings to house administrative offices, with the space vacated in the building to be used as classrooms. She also suggested the Springs Youth Association building be modified to house three kindergarten classrooms.

“Of course it will cost some money, but it’s the best thing I could think of. It could be achieved before school year 2016-17,” Ms. Bicket said.

The facilities committee will next meet on Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. at the Springs School. The meeting is open to the public but there will not be an opportunity for public comment. The next school board meeting is set for Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. in the school library.

The Springs School is saying hello to brand-new students in grades one through eight by scheduling an orientation day for Monday. Those interested in coming can meet in the lobby at 10 a.m. The school is at 48 School Street.

“It’s an opportunity to visit the school, visit the classrooms, and talk about transportation and the curriculum,” Eric Casale, the principal, said during Monday’s school board meeting. “It will give the parents and students an understanding of what the school is like.”

In addition, a kindergarten visit is planned for Wednesday at 2 p.m. to give children a chance to meet their teachers and see their classrooms ahead of the first day of school, which is Sept. 8.

If every student enrolled attends the first day of classes at the Montauk School next Thursday, there will be 353 of them plowing through the front doors. With their new shoes, fresh haircuts, and backpacks strapped on, they won’t find that much has changed.

Montauk Afternoons, a program that students can voluntarily attend after school to do homework or play on computers, has been reinstated this year, with Cheryl Carter running it and Rosa Scott assisting her. Much to parents’ dismay, the program was cut four years ago because of budget restraints. The morning program, another helpful alternative for working parents, in which the students can show up between 7 and 8 a.m. to play in the gym, library, and computer room, will also return this year.

Moreover, students will once again be recycling plastic, metals, and paper in all classes, with certain nonrecyclable materials headed for the compost pile. Also, the late, late bus from East Hampton High School back to Montauk has been put back on the schedule. That, too, was stopped for a while, leaving parents to make the nighttime ride west to East Hampton to pick up their children after sporting events and other programs.

The Montauk School District is one of 124 on Long Island, and one of the 13 that are opening on Sept. 3. Since Labor Day is falling late this year, on Sept. 7, other schools are staggering their openings, from Sept. 2 through Sept. 9.

It’s been rare for the Montauk School to open before Labor Day weekend, but it is contractually required to have 184 days of attendance, Jack Perna, the district superintendent, said. The school calendar includes three snow days and a three-day weekend over Easter (which falls on March 27), minus the following Monday in case of additional weather closings. Another reason for the early opening this year is so students will have a full week of spring break, right after the state tests.

Opening day for faculty and staff is Wednesday, when representatives of the Family Service League will visit to discuss suicide prevention and other matters.

Geological Wonders

A program on geology for ages 8 and up at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center in Bridgehampton on Saturday will explore rocks, gems, fossils, volcanoes, and more geological wonders. Eric Powers of Your Connection to Nature will also help kids identify rocks from their own collections. The program starts at 2 p.m. Advance registration has been requested.

History Set to Music

A lesson in American history, nature, and social action will be set to music when Lloyd Miller performs at the Southampton Arts Center this afternoon at 4:30. Mr. Miller, who founded the group the Deedle Deedle Dees, plays a mix of rock, country, hip-hop, punk, folk, and New Orleans piano music. The concert, which is at the former Parrish Art Museum building on Job’s Lane, is free.

Participatory Circus

Artists from the National Circus Project and children who took part in a circus mini camp at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center will entertain families tonight at 7 at the playhouse. Tickets cost $15 per person, and audiences should go prepared to participate!

Sidewalk Art

At the Montauk Library on Saturday, kids have been invited to create sidewalk art with the library’s chalk and enjoy ice pops between 2 and 3:30 p.m.

Reptile Edventures

Erik’s Reptile Edventures will stop by the East Hampton Library at 2 p.m. today with live Madagascar roaches, an alligator, a python, and more. Tomorrow at 2 p.m., children 4 and older will make collages in the style of Eric Carle, creator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The same age group will look to Leonardo da Vinci for inspiration during an inventions workshop on Wednesday at 4 p.m., and on Friday, Sept. 4, they can make 3-D pop-up pictures of their favorite local spots at 2 p.m. Reservations have been requested for all programs.

“Scarlet the Scientist”

The Children’s Museum of the East End’s Pizza and Pajama Night on Friday, Sept. 4, will include a visit from Kimberly Kleinbaum, the author of “Scarlet the Scientist: A Day at the Beach.” She will read from the book and sign copies. The fun begins at 6 p.m. and will include pizza, of course, and a craft. The program is free with admission to the museum, which is in Bridgehampton, but reservations are a must, as space is limited.

A new dismissal system at the John M. Marshall Elementary School, unveiled two weeks ago at a meeting of the East Hampton School Board, will not take effect after all, officials announced at Tuesday night’s meeting. The plan is on hold for now, school officials said, pending further review.

It had been thought that a side access road off Church Street was wide enough to allow two one-way car lanes, — one on the left for pick-ups and the other affording exit toward Gingerbread Lane. However, said Richard Burns, the district superintendent, it now appears, according to a source whom he did not name, that the access road may not be wide enough for the two lanes. The district’s own measurement had shown the access road to be 20 feet wide, which would be enough for both lanes, he noted.

Wendy Geehreng, a board member, said the village and a traffic safety engineer should study the area in question. Mr. Burns responded that the district’s architect and facilities team “are looking into it so we can get more positive information.”

Correction: Wendy Geehreng's first name was corrected from an earlier version. 

KidFest Finale

At Guild Hall’s final KidFest offering of the summer on Wednesday Bubble Trouble will entertain families outside before Jason Bishop, a magician and illusionist, wows them inside to the John Drew Theater. Shows will be at 2 and 5 p.m., with an outdoor cookie decorating workshop for ages 5 and up at 4 p.m.

The cost for the workshop is $10. Performances cost $18 for adults and $14 for kids. Members get a $2 discount.

For Animal Lovers

Young animal lovers will have three chances this week to get up close and personal with some unusual creatures. Tomorrow, there will be live animal shows at the East Hampton Library from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and at the Montauk Library from 5 to 6 p.m. A tree frog, hedgehog, toads, bugs, lizards, and other creatures will be on hand, and kids will be able to pet and possibly hold them. Personnel of the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will bring some of its rehabilitated birds of prey to the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Next Thursday at the East Hampton Library, Erik’s Reptile Edventures will introduce kids 4 and up to a variety of live creatures including Madagascar roaches and a python. The show will run from 2 to 2:45 p.m.

For Chess Enthusiasts

The Children’s Museum of the East End and Chess NYC will present a morning of chess, crafts, and activities for players at any level on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The event will offer a chance for chess enthusiasts to test their skills and for newcomers to the game to explore it. Entry is free with museum admission, but reservations have been suggested, as space is limited.

Magic, Mobiles

Amore will visit the East Hampton Library for a magic show on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Also on the schedule at the library next week are a mobile workshop inspired by the work of Alexander Calder on Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. and a collage workshop with inspiration from Eric Carle, creator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” on Friday, Aug. 28, at 2. All programs are for ages 4 and up. Reservations have been requested.

End-of-Summer Auction

As summer winds down, the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor will celebrate with an end-of-summer auction for kids in fifth grade and above tomorrow from 7 to 8 p.m. The library promises snacks and dozens of prizes from local businesses.

Shakespeare, Anyone?

The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival, which just finished two weeks of its Camp Shakespeare program in Amagansett, will make a new part of the South Fork its stage starting on Monday, when Camp Shakespeare begins a weeklong run at the Southampton Cultural Center. The camp, which is for ages 8 to 15, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The cost is $475, and some financial aid may be available. Registration is required at 267-0105 or [email protected].

Beach Walks and Sailing

Snails might not seem that special, but “did you know that snails can pull up to 200 times their own weight? Or that they have 25,000 teeth?” The questions come from the South Fork Natural History Museum, where, on Saturday at 11 a.m., Nicole Cummings will introduce 3 to 5-year-olds to some these creatures during a beach walk in East Hampton. Kids will end the walk by making their own shells out of play dough. There is a $2 materials fee for the program. Older kids ages 7 to 12 will look to nature for inspiration in a poetry workshop on Sunday at 11 a.m. Tyler Armstrong will lead the class, which will take place inside and out.

On Monday, the museum will host an educational sailing expedition aboard the SoundWaters, a schooner, from 6 to 8 p.m. for adults and children 6 and older. The trip will leave from Sag Harbor and costs $35 per person, $25 for museum members. Advance reservations with the museum are a must.

Finally, on Friday, Aug. 28, a workshop will focus on ways to “bring nature into your family’s life.” The workshop, part of a series offered this summer, will have parents and children 4 to 8 creating nature journals and plans for their own nature museum. It begins at 10 a.m. Reservations are required.

Goat on a Boat

After a puppet show at the Bay Street Theater this morning, the Goat on a Boat Puppet Theater will be back at its old home on East Union Street in Sag Harbor tomorrow and Saturday and again next weekend for some of the final shows in that space before it moves permanently to Bay Street.

The Puppet Company will present “Al E Gator and Friends,” a marionette show, tomorrow and Saturday at 11 a.m. Next Thursday through Aug. 29, Bonnie Duncan of Massachusetts will serve up “Lollipops for Breakfast,” a fanciful dialogue-free show, also at 11 a.m. Tickets cost $12, $8 for children 3 and under and additional siblings, and $10 for grandparents and theater members.

Pierson High School’s International Baccalaureate program, launched three years ago, is still relatively new and officials, hoping to ramp up participation this year, have invited students and their families to a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Pierson High School library, at which the program and its goals will be presented. According to Mike Guinan, Pierson’s new assistant principal, achieving an I.B. diploma “is its own reward. It helps students to become more independent learners, thereby setting them up for success in college and careers.”

Toward the end of the last academic year, the school found itself struggling somewhat to get more students interested in an I.B. diploma, the culmination of a rigorous curriculum in the junior and senior years. There are 16 seniors who are candidates for the diploma this year, but so far only 8 juniors have signed up. In 2013-14, there were 8 diploma candidates with 5 awarded, and the following year 8 diplomas were awarded among 11 candidates.

Mr. Guinan, who is the director of the program, has been looking through student profiles in the last few weeks, identifying strong candidates, and calling students’ families to gauge their interest. In addition to high school students, middle school students have been invited to learn more about the I.B. program for the middle years, which the district could soon be launching.

“The overarching goal is to continue to communicate, as much as possible, for whomever is interested in the community, the work we’re doing in I.B.,” Mr. Guinan said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s an opportunity for them to challenge themselves to achieve something extraordinary. . . . It prepares them very well for the rigors of higher education.”

Pierson’s I.B. program, which is the only one east of Hampton Bays, is an open-access program. That means all students are eligible to take I.B. classes  even if they are not on the I.B. diploma track. Most of the courses have no prerequisites, which allows classes to be more robust than if they were limited to those seeking the diploma, he said. Last year, Mr. Guinan said, about half the juniors and seniors at Pierson took an I.B. class, and 86 percent passed the 144 exams given with a score of 4 or better on a scale of 7. Such a score often yields college credits.

“We allow students to opt in to the coursework and we provide as rich and differentiated coursework as possible,” Mr. Guinan said. “We do not discourage students from entering rigorous classes. We won’t stand in their way.”

Pierson offers I.B. courses in literature, Spanish, French, history of the Americas, two levels of math, environmental systems and society, biology, chemistry, physics, visual arts, music, and computer science. For the diploma, another requirement is a two-year course in epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, which Mr. Guinan said leads to a higher level of self-awareness. The diploma also requires evidence of creativity, action, and service. Students must score a 4 or better on six I.B. exams, including three at the standard I.B. level and three at a more rigorous level, in order to achieve the diploma.

The International Baccalaureate is a nonprofit educational foundation founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968. Its goal is to help students develop the intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills needed in a rapidly globalizing world.

While the program is known for its high academic bar, it is also known for its costs. Districts pay about $13,500 to apply, the annual membership fee is $8,000, and professional development for teachers costs about $20,000. If the district adds the I.B. Middle Years Programme, for which an application is  underway, the fees may increase.

“I believe that the I.B. professional development is first class,” he said. “It’s not necessarily something we’re spending money on that we wouldn’t be spending in another way.”

Mr. Guinan said the program is financially sustainable at Pierson. “It’s a popular misconception that it’s overwhelmingly expensive. It’s not. If we have 11 students graduating with the I.B. diploma, and we have a graduating class of 80 or 90 kids, that’s a significant percentage.” He added, “I would like it to be more, because I am always striving for more.”