The first time turned out to be a charm for Kendall Stedman and Samantha Prince, two middle school students from the Montauk School. They were the first middle school students ever to be entered by Joe Malave, the school’s science teacher, in the Long Island Science Congress regional science fair, which this year was held on April 21 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City.

Kendall took first place and received the Highest Honor With Distinction award in behavioral sciences in the seventh-grade division. Her project was on music and memory, and the win allows her to advance to the New York State Science Congress competition, which will take place at Brookhaven National Laboratory on May 30.

Last year, as a sixth grader, Kendall won her division at a regional science fair at the lab for her research on how different types of music can affect one’s mood.

Samantha competed with other seventh graders in the chemistry division, which earned her a High Honor distinction, but, alas, not a spot in the May contest. In a project she called “Glucose, Sucrose, and Fructose, Oh My!” she researched the effects of various sweeteners on diabetes patients with hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

Other Montauk students who competed were Thomas Desmond, who earned an achievement award, and Thor Botero, Luke Tyrell, and Ramses Jimenez, all of whom earned meritorious awards.

To qualify for the regional science fairs, a student must have finished in the top three at his or her own school’s science fair. Only 40 projects are eligible to make it into the New York State Science Congress, said Mr. Malave. “So Kendall’s achievement is significant,” he said.

A little more than a week before Springs School District residents are to vote on its annual budget, a separate proposition drew attention at a budget hearing on Monday.

Last year, Springs voters approved setting aside $2 million in a reserve fund for capital improvements. Now they are being asked to spend it.

The proposal, which would not add anything to the tax warrant, calls for a $915,000 parking lot, netting 150 spaces, which would replace one of the ball fields on the campus, a redesigned drop-off and pick-up loop for an additional $256,000, and revamping a playground and other ball fields for about $348,000

Other proposed changes are meant to improve traffic flow and safety for both pedestrians and drivers on Ed Hults Lane, School Street, and Old Stone Highway.

A few residents at the meeting questioned the plan on Monday, saying the scope needed to be clearer, the environmental aspects studied, and suggesting the money might be better spent on an expansion of the school building.

“I appreciate that whoever drafted the newsletter labeled the project as ‘health and safety,’ which of course means no one will question it except me,” said David Buda, a resident. “I question whether or not the project is fully necessary at this time and whether you’re getting the most bang for the buck. . . . Can this project be toned down, even if it’s approved, or phased in?”

“We can’t phase it in,” Liz Mendelman, the Springs School Board president, said. “There’s not enough parking. To really address the core issue, it’s not only safety for the kids, but it’s also for the community.”

Mr. Buda said more attention needed to be paid to the environmental impact of the new parking lot and the other proposed changes.

Chris Tucci, a resident and parent, suggested the money could be better spent elsewhere, such as on an expansion of the school building. On Monday, he said he was still against using $2 million on the parking lot and proposed traffic improvements.

“Based on my experience, the only time that there’s traffic around the school is 8:30 in the morning and 3:30 in the afternoon,” Mr. Tucci said. “Most of the day . . . traffic is not an issue whatsoever. If there is a safety and health concern, I think there should be some documentation.”

Regarding the budget in general, another resident, Carole Campolo, suggested the board “make some really hard decisions, do some really tough negotiating” to control costs.

“The only ones you’re going to be able to turn to are the taxpayers,” she said. “You can’t keep balancing these budgets with one-shot fund balances. Those are going to end, so you have to bring some structural discipline to this budget.”

Attendance at the hearing was sparse so it remains to be seen how the majority will vote on the issue.

Community members continue to rally around the Springs School District, with the school board voting on Monday to accept donations of money and equipment totaling more than $13,700.

According to figures provided by the district, Springs has received nearly $30,000 in grants and donations to date during this school year.

The Anna Mirabai Lytton Fund donated $5,000 for a recent poetry and book-making project for students in the seventh and eighth grades. The fund was established following Anna Lytton’s death in June of 2013 while riding a bicycle. She was 14 years old and had been a student at the Springs School.

Colleen McGowan, a Springs art teacher, said at the board meeting that the students had “an amazing experience exploring art and poetry” through the donation from the fund. “Anna was a great poet herself,” Ms. McGowan said.

The Greater East Hampton Education Foundation donated $1,950 for the Springs School’s visiting science program, and the Kiwanis Club donated $750 for Springs community members who are participating in the Special Olympics.

Springs received lacrosse equipment valued at $844 from a new booster club supporting the fifth and sixth-grade lacrosse program.

The PTA donated $3,317 for a seventh-grade field trip and close to $1,900 for a fourth-grade field trip.

Liz Mendelman, the school board president, thanked the organization. “The PTA has been on a roll lately,” she said. “We’re so appreciative of everything you do.”

Lisa Matz, the PTA president, also announced the results of the organization’s second Mystery Art Sale at Ashawagh Hall. About $39,500 was raised through the four-day event. The school board has not yet formally accepted any donations from this year’s sale. At the meeting, the PTA also announced a $1,000 donation to the Springs Improvement Society as a gesture of appreciation for the society’s support of Springs students. The society oversees Ashawagh Hall.

Residents will head to the polls Tuesday to vote yes or no on budgets for the 2015-16 school year, with the impact of those budgets expected to vary by district. Voting hours vary by district. Absentee ballots are due no later than 5 p.m. the day of the vote.

AMAGANSETT

Voting hours: 2-8 p.m. in the school gymnasium, 320 Main Street, Amagansett

School budget proposal: $10,587,479

Library budget proposal: $938,861

Propositions: Vote yes/no on five-year tuition contract with East Hampton and vote yes/no on creating capital reserve fund for renovations and upgrades

School board candidates (1 seat available): Mary Lownes, Steve Grabowski

Notes: Amagansett’s proposed budget is a 1.09-percent increase in year-over-year spending, but it would actually lower its tax levy for the first time. That drop, a .38-percent decrease, means school taxes may go down slightly. In its budget newsletter, the district says a house with an assessed value of $6,000 will see taxes drop by about $12 for the year. The two largest areas of spending are salaries, which make up about 41 percent of the budget, and tuition to other districts, which makes up 23 percent of the budget. In this proposed budget, teacher salaries are increasing by 1 percent as part of contract negotiations that saw a salary freeze for the current year.

Related: A Slight Decrease in Tax Levy for Amagansett

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Voting hours: 2-8 p.m. in school gymnasium, 2685 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton

Budget proposal: $12,818,345

School board candidates (3 seats available): Doug DeGroot, Ronald White, Lillian Tyree-Johnson

Notes: If approved, Bridgehampton’s overall budget-to-budget increase would be 3.99 percent. That would mean a tax levy increase of 3.51 percent — the maximum the district is allowed under the state’s tax levy limitations. The district is drawing on its reserves and fund balance in order to keep the budget within that limitation. Because the assessed property values in Bridgehampton continue to increase, the district is predicting school taxes will not increase next year for the average homeowner. The biggest jumps in spending are attributed to rising teacher salaries in accordance with a new teachers’ contract and the hiring of additional teaching staff. More money is being allocated for technology and physical education programs, and spending on social security and health insurance is also expected to rise.

Related: 'A Conservative Budget' 

East Hampton

Voting hours: 1-8 p.m. at East Hampton High School, 2 Long Lane

Budget proposal: $66,081,710

School board candidates (3 seats available): John Ryan Sr., Christina DeSanti, Liz Pucci, Deme Minskoff

Notes: East Hampton’s proposed budget carries a year-over-year spending increase of 1.55 percent. Under the state’s tax levy cap law, its limit on the tax levy increase is 1.82 percent. However, the district chose to stay under that threshold, proposing a budget that would increase the tax levy by 1.62 percent. The proposed budget includes funding for full-day pre-kindergarten beginning next year, another math teacher, a computer science teacher for a new coding program, middle school intramural sports, four new school buses, additional Chromebooks for student use, and more. School taxes are expected to rise by 1.35 percent, or about $41 for a property with an assessed value of $6,000.

Related: Windfall Budget

MONTAUK

Voting hours: 2-8 p.m. at Montauk School, 50 S. Dorset Drive

Budget proposal: $18,993,248

Proposition: Vote yes/no on five-year tuition contract with East Hampton

School board candidates (1 seat available): Diane Hausman, Carmine Marino Jr.

Notes: Montauk’s proposed spending plan carries a budget-to-budget increase of 1.97 percent and a proposed tax levy increase of 1.83 percent. The district is expecting to spend less on teacher salaries and facilities costs, but spend more on transportation, administrative costs, and tuition to East Hampton, BOCES, and charter schools. The proposed budget preserves Montauk’s summer school program, restores the morning and after-school care programs, and restores the “late late” bus that transports students home from late activities at East Hampton High School. The tax rate is projected to go up about 99 cents per $100 of assessed value. For instance, a house with an assessed value of $6,000 would see a $59.22 tax increase for the year.

SAG HARBOR

Voting hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. at Pierson High School, 200 Jermain Avenue

Budget proposal: $37,552,566

Proposition: Establish repair reserve fund in the amount of $2.5 million

School Board candidates (3 seats available): Chris Tice, James Ding, James Sanford, Tommy John Schiavoni, Stephanie Bitis

Notes: Faced with a 2.53-percent cap on increases to the tax levy, Sag Harbor’s proposed budget actually carries a tax levy increase of about 2.49 percent. The district is proposing a budget-to-budget spending increase of 1.85 percent. It would spend less on administrative costs while budgeting more for teacher salaries, library and audiovisual materials, recreational activities, and guidance services, all while staying within tax cap limitations. The district also wants to set up a reserve fund for repairs in the amount of $2.5 million, which would come from any end-of-year surplus funds the district may have, and would not require the collection of any additional taxes.

SAGAPONACK

Voting hours: 7:30-8:30 p.m. at Sagaponack School, 400 Sagg Main Street

Budget proposal: $1,772,505

School board candidates (1 seat available): Joe Louchheim

Notes: Sagaponack is in the process of transitioning to educate students in kindergarten through third grade, rather than its current model of first through fourth grades. To that end, the district is spending more on new equipment and materials for incoming kindergarten students. Its $1,772,505 budget proposal represents a 1.09-percent increase over last year’s budget, but depending upon assessed property values, a slight decrease in the tax rate is possible — less than 2 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Although Sagaponack could have increased its tax levy by as much as 3.34 percent, administrators chose to create a budget proposal that stays underneath that, at 2.53 percent.

Related: Sagg to Add Kindergarten

SPRINGS

Voting hours: 1-9 p.m. at Springs School, 48 School Street, East Hampton

Budget proposal: $27,363,316

Propositions: Vote yes/no on five-year tuition contract with East Hampton; vote yes/no to authorize use of $2 million capital reserve fund for improvements including a new parking lot for 150 vehicles, reconfigured drop-off/pickup loop, changes to Ed Hults Lane, and more.

School board candidates (1 seat available): Barbara Dayton

Notes: According to school administrators, the proposed Springs budget maintains programs and services while coming in slightly below the tax cap limitation — 1.58 percent, rather than 1.62 percent. The administration accomplished that by tapping into about $1.17 million in reserve funding and by realizing savings in state-level pension costs, tuition costs to send students to East Hampton High School, reducing professional development, and other areas. The school district is also seeking approval to use all or most of its $2 million capital reserve fund, which voters approved last year, on a series of improvements to the campus outlined above.

Related: Safety First at Springs School

WAINSCOTT

Voting hours: 2-8 p.m. at Wainscott School, 47 Wainscott Main Street

Budget proposal: $3,064,360

School board candidates (1 seat): Kelly Anderson

Notes: Wainscott is proposing a budget that decreases overall spending by 1.58 percent and decreases the tax levy by 2.04 percent. The district is projecting a corresponding decrease in school taxes. It’s the fourth year in a row that the district has lowered its projected spending, and the third year in a row that the district has lowered its tax levy. Unlike other districts that send its students to East Hampton, Wainscott opted not to sign the five-year tuition contract that other sending districts signed this year. Doing so would have qualified Wainscott for a 5-percent discount in the tuition rate, but school officials have said it’s more prudent to take a wait-and-see approach due to the affordable housing project being proposed in Wainscott and Sag Harbor, which could potentially bring in many new students.

Related: Wainscott Eschews Tuition Discount

While the budgets and propositions on the ballots for the 2015-16 school year easily passed in the school districts where polls closed at 8 p.m., there were some upsets in school board races. 

In East Hampton, John Ryan Sr., a former school board member who ran against three incumbents, won a two-year term on the board after receiving 311 votes. Two of the incumbents, Christina DeSanti and Liz Pucci, received more votes, with Ms. DeSanti taking in 395 and Liz Pucci, 370. Deme Minskoff, who was appointed to replace Patricia Hope after she resigned and ran for the first time to keep the seat, received 286 votes. Mr. Ryan will finish the rest of Ms. Hope's term, and he was sworn-in immediately on Tuesday evening.

In East Hampton, where the district had proposed a $66.1 million budget that included more funding for arts, athletics, and science and technology, the result was a 440-to-73 vote in favor of the budget.

While voters in Amagansett approved all propositions by a wide margin, there was an upset when it came to the school board race. Mary Lownes, who has served on the school board for 13 years, lost to Steve Graboski. In a 102-to-75 vote, Mr. Graboski, a 34-year resident of Amagansett and a retired East Hampton Town police officer, won a three-year term.

Ms. Lownes, who was in the school gymnasium awaiting the results, left immediately upon hearing the tally. Eleanor Tritt, the district's superintendent, declined to comment on the board race. 

Voters in Amagansett approved a $10.6 million budget 145 to 33. That budget actually will carry a small decrease in the tax levy while preserving educational programs. Voters also authorized a proposition to create a capital reserve fund for renovations and upgrades, in a 148-to-24 vote, and supported the five-year tuition contract with the East Hampton School District with a 158-to-17 vote. The library budget of about $938,900 was also approved, 156 to 24.

In Montauk,  voters came out strongly in favor of a proposed 2015-16 budget of just under $19 million with a 295-to-54 vote. The budget will restore a full summer school program and a number of before- and after-school programs that were cut several years ago when the state-mandated limit on tax levy increases was initiated.

Montauk voters also supported Diane Hausman, the current school board president, who received 218 votes to Carmine Marino Jr.’s 137 votes. A five-year tuition contract with the East Hampton School District was also overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 317 to 28.

Bridgehampton voters approved the district’s proposed $12.8 million budget, with 124 votes for it and 31 votes against it. The school’s 2015-16 spending plan called for a 3.51-percent tax levy increase, although the tax rate is expected to stay flat due to rising assessments in property values. Three school board members were elected after running unopposed to retain their seats. Lillian Tyree-Johnson received 134 votes, Ronald White received 133, and Doug DeGroot took in 130.

In Wainscott, where results came in about 15 minutes after the polls closed, all 40 of the voters approved the district’s budget of just over $3 million. This is Wainscott’s fourth straight budget that includes a decrease in spending, and the third straight budget that includes a decrease in the tax levy. Kelly Anderson, the only candidate running for one seat on the school board, was re-elected with 39 votes.

RELATED: Voters Reject Springs Parking Plan; Sag Harbor Passes Budget

With Reporting by Christopher Walsh and Taylor K. Vecsey

All About Stop-Motion

Families will explore and create stop-motion animation tomorrow night at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill as artists from the Good School guide them in building sets and using professional animation software from 5:30 to 7:30. The evening’s fun is free with museum admission. Reservations are not required.

Books on Screen

This afternoon at 5 the East Hampton Library’s series of teen movies, Books on Screen, will feature “The Maze Runner,” based on the post-apocalyptic young-adult novel by James Dashner. It is rated PG-13.

Younger kids, ages 4 to 6, can enjoy a ladybug-themed story and craft time on Tuesday from 4 to 5 p.m. Advance registration has been requested.

Creature Characteristics

Animals from the South Fork Natural History Museum will pay a visit to the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton tomorrow from 4 to 5 p.m., and educators will tell children about each creature’s special characteristics and habits.

Also tomorrow, from 7 to 9 p.m., kids 12 and older will take over the library (sort of) for a young-adult screening of “Mockingjay Part 1.”

Ribbit, Ribbit

After listening to a story about a wide-mouth frog, children will have a chance to make their own on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Amagansett Library. On Sunday at 2 p.m., the library will celebrate children’s book authors who have birthdays in May, among them Mo Willems, Arnold Lobel, and Margret Rey.

Planting Party

The trowels will be at the ready at the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton on Saturday for a planting party starting at 10 a.m. Last month, museum visitors helped plant seeds. Now that they’ve grown into seedlings, children have been invited back to move them into the museum’s garden.

Sima will be at CMEE on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. for her monthly story time. Both programs this weekend are free with museum admission.

Administrators at East Hampton High School are hoping to do something about climate change — but not the environmental kind. Hundreds of students, teachers, and parents recently took a survey on the education, social relationships, and safety at the school, and the conclusion was that its atmosphere is “neutral.”

It’s a result that Adam Fine, the principal, wants to shift toward the positive. “The only way to get better is to be candid and open about it,” he said Monday, adding there’s more work to be done. “We want the criticism because it’s the only way we’re going to ever get better.”

The survey was the second of its kind for the high school. The first followed the suicide of a student, David Hernandez, in 2012.

“We were like, ‘Hey, everything is hunky-dory,’ and then a student took his own life,” Mr. Fine said. “There was a lot of rumor out there, a lot of discussion on what caused this. What we decided to do, instead of saying there was one cause, was take a look at everything from character education to bullying to name-calling behaviors. . . . We wanted to really find out what was going on.”

Of the high school’s 860 students, 573, or 67 percent, took the survey, as did 175 of their parents. All but two of the school’s 125 teachers and staff members took the survey.

The survey was broken down into categories including safety, relationships, teaching and learning, and environment. Respondents were asked to rate the topics on a scale of 1 to 5. By grade level, sophomores and juniors rated most categories lower than freshmen and seniors.

“Social-emotional security” received an average rating of 2.89 from students, 3.44 from staff, and 3.11 from parents. “Respect for diversity” received an average rating of 3.5 from students, 4 from staff, and 3.75 from parents. “Sense of physical security” received scores of 3.8 from students, and 4 from staff and parents. “Social support from adults” received scores of 3.63 from students, 4.17 from staff, and 3.63 from parents.

The results did not vary significantly from the 2012-13 survey, Mr. Fine said. “Basically the highest level of concern was the sense of social and emotional security. That’s the teasing, social abuse, exclusion,” he said. “There were no shocking surprises, but there were a lot of questions, which should be the case.”

The survey, or Comprehensive School Climate Inventory, cost East Hampton $2,600. It was strongly recommended by the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, which explored the circumstances surrounding the shooting at the Connecticut elementary school in 2012.

At the April 22 meeting of the East Hampton School Board, Claude Beudert, a middle school teacher who is co-president of the East Hampton Teachers Association, asked the administration to give the survey at the middle and elementary schools, too. “For us, locally, I think it’s important that we know where we are going from K to 12,” Mr. Beudert said.

In an email, Richard Burns, East Hampton’s superintendent, said, “Keep­ing the pulse of student and parent concerns is a proactive way of preventing future problems. Social and emotional issues can be dealt with in a timely way.”

Since the first survey, East Hampton started a Gay Straight Alliance club, peer mediation, and a student “Justice League” that promotes a positive school environment, Mr. Fine said. The administration is planning to launch an “upstander” program to encourage students to make a difference.

“We’re doing a lot more of these things that are really staying embedded in the culture, not just one-and-done things,” he said. “We’ve targeted small group discussions. That’s helped tremendously.”

Cyber-bullying and negative text messaging complicate the process of improving the school climate, Mr. Fine said. That’s one reason why East Hampton has scheduled an event titled Dangers of Social Networking/Cyber-bullying for parents and students on May 13. Presentations will take place at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

What has also helped, Mr. Fine said, is increased attention to mental health. The South Fork Behavioral Health Initiative, which was established in 2014, has been serving a growing number of students, and in March, state officials announced an extra $175,000 to expand its reach.

“It has really brought a whole new awareness of mental health,” Mr. Fine said. “More kids, we find now, are coming to us before they hit crises.”

School boards in East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Sag Harbor unanimously voted last week to approve budget proposals that stay within state-mandated limits on tax levy increases.

Sag Harbor’s budget is a $37.55 million proposal that carries a budget-to-budget increase of 1.58 percent. The district’s tax levy increase was capped at 2.53 percent, but the tax levy in the adopted budget actually stayed below that level, coming in at 2.49 percent.

Bridgehampton’s budget is a $12.82 million proposal that represents a budget-to-budget increase of 3.99 percent. The associated tax levy is about $11 million, which is a 3.51-percent increase over the current year’s tax levy.

East Hampton’s budget proposal is $66.08 million, which carries a 1.55-percent year-over-year increase in spending. The tax levy is $48.66 million, which is an increase of $773,200 over last year’s tax levy, or 1.61 percent. This year, East Hampton’s limit on tax levy increase was 1.81 percent.

Family Day in the Gardens

On the heels of National Public Gardens Day and in advance of Mother’s Day two local gardens have invited families to enjoy their splendors on Saturday.

LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton will have a free family day with special activities and treats for kids, all set to the soundtrack of live student performances, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. At Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton, participants in Lois Bender’s watercolor class have been welcomed to take their children along and paint together from noon to 3 p.m. The cost for an adult and child together is $45, with advance reservations and payment required at gardenspiritsNY.com

Teen Writers and Trivia for Readers

Teen writers who have been perfecting their craft in two programs at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor will read from their work on Saturday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A reception will follow the readings.

Earlier that afternoon, at 5 p.m., fifth through eighth graders with a passion for books will gather at the library to kick off the annual countywide Battle of the Books trivia program. Details and a list of books to be read in advance of the Aug. 1 trivia contest will be available on Saturday. 

A Day at the Beach With Scarlet

Kimberly Kleinbaum will read from her new children’s book, “Scarlet the Scientist: A Day at the Beach,” on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. The self-published book, featuring her two daughters, is geared to children 3 to 8. Ms. Kleinbaum, a former news anchor, will talk about self-publishing after the reading. 

Reservations have been requested. 

Just in Time for Mother’s Day

Gifts and treats for mom will be in the offing Saturday at the Children’s Museum of the East End. Little ones 2 to 6 accompanied by an adult will make mini-cupcakes for their mothers at 10 a.m. The cost is $20 including museum admission, $7 for members. 

At the same time, kids 7 to 10 can create floral wreaths during a drop-off program that runs till 11. The cost is $15, not including museum admission, and $12 for members. Advance sign-up is required for each session. 

Paintings, Mailings, and More for Mom

Mother’s Day will also be the focus at the local libraries. A mom-centered storytime and crafts for 4 to 6-year-olds will happen today from 4 to 5 p.m. at the East Hampton Library. Kids who visit the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton tomorrow from 4:30 to 5:30 will have the chance to make a special painting for their mothers. And in Amagansett, the library will welcome children on Sunday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. to fax, scan, email, or write a message to moms near and far.

In other library happenings this week, Green Meadow Farms will bring bugs, frogs, and other creatures to the Hampton Library on Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. On Tuesday there will be 3D printing classes there for ages 7 and up at 4 p.m. and for ages 12 and up at 6 p.m. 

On Wednesday, families can drop in to the East Hampton Library to play various games from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

East Hampton’s participation in a swimming program for elementary school students will go forward next year, although in reduced form. At Tuesday night’s meeting of the East Hampton School Board, Richard Burns, the superintendent, reported a consensus had been reached to preserve its spirit. 

Officials, thinking the program took up too much class time, had proposed that it be limited to kindergarten. Instead, it will be structured for students in grades one through three in June only, starting with next school year. Kindergarten swimming lessons will remain throughout the year as part of physical education classes. This year, students from kindergarten through fifth grade have swimming lessons four times a year.

“We have a good, viable plan. Everyone’s happy,” Dennis Sullivan, assistant principal of the John M. Marshall Elementary School, said this week.

John Ryan Sr., a former East Hampton School Board member whose son was instrumental in creating the program, called the result “terrific.”