Fab Dads

    At the East Hampton and Amagansett Libraries this week, kids can enjoy a little art along with their books. A Surrealist-inspired program at the East Hampton Library tomorrow from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. will have kids 4 and older swirling and folding to create a paint surprise. Then on Wednesday, the same age group can listen to a summer story and let their summer dreams loose during a craft session. The program runs from 4 to 5 p.m. Adults must accompany the young ones.

    At the Amagansett Library, dads will get their due as part of a Fab Dad story and craft time on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested for all library programs, as space is limited.

From Rothko to Manga

    Young artists who want to hone their talents or learn new ones will have three classes to choose from on Saturday at the Golden Eagle art supply shop in East Hampton.

    The day begins with an abstract triptych class for 3 to 5-year-olds from 10 to 11 a.m., or a Rothko-inspired painting class at the same time for kids 6 and up. A manga comic book class for kids 8 and older, the third in a series of four, will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    On the schedule for June 22 are a coffee filter monster class for the youngest artists, Art in a Box for those 6 and older, and the final manga class. Classes cost $20 each per child. Reservations have been recommended as many classes fill up in advance. The shop is on Gingerbread Lane.

    The East Hampton Day Care Learning Center’s board of directors has two new chairwomen, Cornelia Randolph and Linda Calder. They are replacing Fred Doss and Diane Saatchi, who led the board for more than five years.

    Ms. Randolph was a bilingual educator, English language teacher and coordinator for the East Hampton School District for 18 years, and a past president of New York State Teachers of Students as a Second Language. She is the president of Educational Design Consulting and works with the Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network as a consultant to districts on eastern Long Island. A member of the center’s board for two years, she lives in East Hampton.

    Ms. Calder has been a board member for a year. She was the general manager and innkeeper at the Huntting Inn in East Hampton for 32 years and served on the board of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce for nine years, from 1992 to 2001, and was president for four.

    Laura Anker, a former East Hampton School Board member and a professor at the State University at Old Westbury, has been elected vice chairwoman of the center’s board.

    Nancy McCaffrey will continue as the board’s secretary, and Eleanor Whitmore, a founding board member, will be honorary president. Jennifer Wilson, an agent at Sotheby’s International Realty, is returning to the board after a four-year absence. She served from 2007 to 2009. Judith Schneider is joining Ms. Saatchi and Mr. Doss in stepping down.

    The nonprofit center offers early education and prekindergarten programs to over 100 children.

Cocktail Benefit

    On Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m., the center will hold its spring benefit cocktail party at a house on Further Lane in East Hampton. Mamalee Rose and Friends will provide the music, and there will be a silent auction of luxury goods, original art, outings, and more. Tickets cost $175 and can be purchased by calling the center or visiting its Web site, easthamptondaycare.org.

Faces in Printmaking

    A printmaking workshop at the East Hampton Library tomorrow will introduce kids 4 and older to this creative technique. Participants will look at faces in prints by famous artists and then print their own faces and shapes using techniques designed for their age group. The class runs from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Advance registration is required. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Scientists and Scavengers

    The Children’s Museum of the East End will take its Pizza and Pajama Night on the road to the Madoo Conservancy in Sagaponack tomorrow. While adults relax in the 2.5-acre garden reserve, kids will have a chance to explore the grounds and participate in a scavenger hunt. The program begins at 6 p.m. and is free for museum members, $10 for others. Reservations are required.  Back at the museum in Bridgehampton on Saturday at 10 a.m., budding scientists ages 2 to 4 can join an introductory Funtastic Science class. Taught by Andrea Van Dyke, one of the museum’s new educators, the class will introduce basic science concepts through playful activities. This week, kids will learn how to make a bottle fountain and then test out their creations. Classes will continue each Saturday in June. The cost is $22, or $10 for members. Advance registration has been recommended.

Crafts in Gansett and Sag

    At the Amagansett Library on Saturday, families will listen to stories about taking flight. Then they will make their own butterfly wings. The story and craft session will begin at 3:30 p.m. Reservations have been requested. Five to 9-year-olds will transform paper into beautiful beads during a craft workshop at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Advance registration has been requested.

Wagner for Kids

    “Wagner for Kids . . . and Everyone Else” is the title of Victoria Bond’s family-friendly introduction to Wagner’s “Ring” cycle of operas on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Montauk Library. “From a young person’s point of view,” the four-opera cycle “is an action-adventure saga” telling the story of the gods, heroes, and supernatural figures of Scandinavian and German myths and folktales, it says in a release. “More powerful than Terminator, tougher than X-Men, better armored than Iron Man, more agile than Spider-Man is Siegfried, who searches for a magical ring and a fabulous treasure while battling hostile dwarfs, ferocious giants, warrior-women, mermaids, and a ferocious dragon!” Ms. Bond, a composer and conductor, will include slides, audio clips, and a Bugs Bunny cartoon in her program, part of a library series commemorating the bicentennials of the births of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Saturday’s program is free, but reservations are appreciated.

Lessons From a Miller

    Kids can try their hands at milling grains on the water-powered mill at the Water Mill Museum each Monday from 11:30 to 12:30 p.m. this summer. The museum’s miller will teach children about the giant stone wheels and wooden gears that helped accomplish this important work in centuries past.  Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help with the ongoing preservation and restoration of the landmark, which is the oldest commercial building on the East End.

Art Classes a-Go-Go

    A new session of classes for young adults began this week at the Applied Arts School for the Arts in Amagansett.  For the serious young artist, the school has portfolio-building classes, senior portfolio review, art school admission, painting, drawing, photography, and mixed-media art, as well as fiction writing. Prices range from $150 to $450 for a four-week class. A full list and description of classes can be found online at appliedartsschool.com. The school will also run a summer youth art program with five-day-a-week classes designed to give kids 7 to 14 a chance to explore their talents while they work in a variety of mediums — drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, sewing, textiles, photography, jewelry making, and ceramics. The program will run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with students divided by age group. Tuition is $425 per week and will include all supplies and a snack.

Pump It Up!

    Dozens of young dancers from the Dancehampton studio will take to the stage at East Hampton High School this weekend for their spring recital, “Pump Up the Volume.” The show will include ballet, tap, hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, and Irish step dancing, with a bit of musical theater thrown in, too.

    Performances will be on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Dancehampton, which is on Lumber Lane in East Hampton, across from the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter.

From Marine to Moraine

    Future marine biologists, mark your calendars. On Saturday Frank Quevedo, the executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum, will lead a shark dissection workshop for kids 8 and older.

    Participants will dissect a small shark, known as a spiny dogfish, and learn to identify its anatomical parts to better understand how it swims, eats, and respires. The program begins at 10 a.m. and carries a $20 materials fee. Tools, gloves, and eye protection will be supplied. Older kids have been invited to join in a SoFo hike in Montauk at 10 a.m. on Saturday with Angela Firestone, a geologist and former curator of geology at the Cranbrook Institute of Science. Hikers will explore the Ronkonkoma terminal moraine, deposited on the South Fork during the last advance of the Wisconsin-Illinois ice sheet 10,000 years ago. Advance registration is required for all programs, as enrollment is limited. The museum is in Bridgehampton on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

    “In school, Whalebone Village was always considered the ’hood. Everyone thought we didn’t really have anything and that it was a dangerous place because you could get beat up,” said Evelyn Collado, 23, who moved to the Whalebone Village Apartments in East Hampton when she was 4.

    “Now, it’s different. It feels safer, and like more of a community.”

    Still, in the local schools, Whalebone has a reputation for turning out troubled youth, said Virginia St. John, a social worker, who has been working with parents at the apartment complex. “The kids feel like they’re a target.”

    Nestled in the woods off Middle Highway, the apartments provide one of the few low-income housing options on the South Fork.

    Single mothers occupy 28 of the 46 units in the complex.

    Gerry Mooney, who has managed the Whalebone Apartments since its founding in 1989, considers it an invisible world, or population of working poor that commonly falls outside the purview of many local residents. 

    “These are the waitresses, the landscapers, the nannies, the women cleaning your house,” said Mr. Mooney, a Bronx native who formerly worked as a community organizer. “These aren’t the folks you see walking down Main Street on the weekends. The only time you see them is when they’re walking behind the kids they’re taking care of.”

    Combined with the recent suicides of three Latino high school students and December’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Mr. Mooney decided it was time to finally take action. “We’re not going to get rid of the guns. The guns are already here,” said Mr. Mooney. “These kids can either hurt themselves or they can hurt someone else.”

    In January, Whalebone began offering therapeutic and preventative services for parents in the hopes of creating a more supportive and nurturing home environment that would ultimately benefit the youngest residents.

    Of Whalebone’s more than 100 residents, including 40 children, Mr. Mooney focused his attention on the 18 teenage boys and girls, who, by virtue of their economic circumstance, are considered high-risk and likely to experience challenges related to impulsivity, substance abuse, and depression, among other issues.

    On Wednesday evenings, Ms. St. John, who specializes in dialectical behavior therapy, leads a group of residents through various exercises to promote stress management, improve communication, and develop a more hopeful attitude. Dialectical behavior therapy, a derivative of cognitive behavior therapy, helps people learn different ways of thinking about and reacting to situations.

    “These parents are there for each other,” said Ms. St. John. “They really are a village.” Though the weekly meetings are scheduled for an hour, they commonly stretch to two.

    “One of the issues that has arisen is that these are first generation immigrants,” she said. “They’re raising children in a different culture than they were raised in.”

    At a recent Wednesday night meeting, which focused on mindfulness as a way to reduce conflict in families, the more than 20 residents in attendance were all Latino. A few teenagers and younger children dotted the perimeter of the peach-colored room. Ms. St. John uses the help of a Spanish-speaking translator to conduct the sessions.

    Ms. Collado, who was born in the Dominican Republic and graduated from East Hampton High School, has seen the population change considerably as the number of Latino residents has increased, with language barriers among first generation children and their parents a particular challenge. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment. Her parents live nearby in a two-bedroom unit. Of the 46 apartments, Latino residents occupy 32 units.

    Ms. Collado now works as a tenant specialist at Whalebone, helping to deal with the various issues that arise for residents. She keeps a particular eye on the 13 teenage boys. For many of them, summertime spells boredom and a chronic lack of supervision.

    This summer, with many of the parents working two and three jobs, children and teenagers will be the primary focus of the Wednesday night meetings. Though current funding will allow the program to “limp through until December,” its future hinges on raising of additional money. According to organizers, though they have raised $7,000 in recent weeks, $35,000 is still needed to continue the program next year.

    “It’s a small number of high-risk individuals and sometimes it’s easier to get funding for something with a lot of kids and a generalized kind of approach,” Ms. St. John said.

    “Being a single mother is an almost guaranteed path into poverty,” said Mr. Mooney, who sees many of the residents exhausted by their dual struggle to make ends meet while also trying to provide their children with a better life.

    At Whalebone, the waitlist to qualify for an apartment now stretches 163 names long — with many individuals waiting five or more years.

    Besides single mothers, the apartments are also occupied by a handful of senior citizens and disabled individuals whose yearly income averages $18,500. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, federal poverty guidelines for a family of three is $19,530. At Whalebone single households are capped at a $55,000 annual income. All residents allocate 30 percent of their income toward rent.

    Challenges aside, slowly, a community is developing. For many residents, the hour-long sessions provide their only reprieve from weekly stresses.

    Every Wednesday night, as she is packing up to go home, Ms. St. John is bombarded by the same question: Are you going to keep coming back?

    For Springs School officials, it has been a difficult month.

    First the assistant principal resigned, then the school reported testing irregularities to New York State, and that led to questions concerning its principal, Eric Casale, who had dealt with a cheating scandal at his prior school, P.S. 91 in the Bronx, before being hired by the Springs School.

    In 2005, the New York Post reported on a cheating incident that occurred while Mr. Casale was principal of P.S. 91. According to the Post, Barbara Lee, a former math coach who had since been promoted assistant principal, was accused of helping students cheat during a 2004 New York State Regents exam. The Post story alleged that Mr. Casale destroyed student and teacher testimonies related to potential wrongdoing. In a 2010 follow-up, the Post reported that the city ultimately terminated Ms. Lee following a protracted legal battle.

    Since the article and the 2005 allegations have surfaced, questions have arisen concerning whether Springs School was aware of such issues when it offered Mr. Casale the job as principal in May of 2005.

    Two weekends ago, board members asked Mr. Casale to present them with a detailed timeline concerning the allegations.

    John Grant, the school board’s vice president, who has served on the board for four years, recently allowed The Star to see a copy of the dozen-page timeline but would not allow for a copy to leave the premises.

    In it, Mr. Casale wrote that during his interview process a Springs teacher placed copies of the 2005 New York Post article in teacher’s mailboxes, ostensibly hoping to jeopardize his candidacy. It also says that he was granted tenure in October 2007 after demonstrating significant academic gains, both instructionally and also in terms of revamping the school’s overall culture. Typically, administrators are given three-years probationary appointments before tenure is granted.

    On May 19, Mr. Casale sent a two-page letter to the Springs community, describing recent coverage as “an extremely upsetting situation.” The letter is posted on the school’s Web site.

    The next day, the Springs School Board leapt to Mr. Casale’s defense, issuing a letter of support emphasizing that it had exercised due diligence and properly vetted his candidacy long before offering him the position.

     “As a board of education, we believe in the integrity of our hiring process,” the board said in the release. “The events associated with his employment with the New York City Board of Education were made known to the board before he began his employment at Springs. The record of his past employment in N.Y.C. — which in our opinion has been reported in an unfair and out-of-context manner — cannot overwhelm or change our appreciation and respect for his leadership.”

    Dominic Mucci, the superintendent, was similarly unequivocal in his praise.

     “We’re going to move forward,” Mr. Mucci said early last week, adding that Mr. Casale has been flooded with letters of support from both faculty and parents in recent days. “We have confidence in Mr. Casale, his leadership, his character, and most importantly, his integrity.”

    “A lot of parents are supportive,” said Pat Brabant, a father of four at the Springs School, who said that test scores had risen significantly since Mr. Casale assumed the post nearly eight years ago. “He’s very dedicated. He’s a good man. It’s easier to pull someone apart than it is to show someone’s positive qualities. Springs has come a long way from where it used to be.”

    Christopher Sarlo, who served as interim principal of Springs School during the 2004-5 academic year, was directly involved in the vetting of Mr. Casale. Mr. Sarlo, who had been a principal of East Hampton High School, said Mr. Casale was one of five candidates who advanced to the final round.

    “We had a very comprehensive committee process. We checked his credentials,” said Mr. Sarlo, adding that he spoke with Ray Rosemberg, a retired superintendent in New York who worked as Mr. Casale’s supervisor. Along with Mr. Sarlo, Edward Swensen also co-chaired the committee reviewing principal candidates. “We felt comfortable that he was not involved in any wrongdoing. There was nothing hidden. The board was aware of it.”

    When reached by telephone Tuesday morning, Mr. Rosemberg, who has since retired from the New York City school system, said he did not recall whether the Springs School search committee had contacted him.

    “Eight years after leaving behind a nightmarish attempt to destroy my career and my personal reputation, the matter has resurfaced in a manner that feels terribly unfair,” Mr. Casale wrote in his May 19 letter to the Springs community. “But I truly have nothing to hide, and that’s why it is important for me to share this detail with you.”

    The letter goes into some detail concerning the allegations made while he ran P.S. 91. During his second year as principal, he said that he began looking for a new position, both on Long Island and also in Westchester County.

    “This weekend, I came to learn that in August of 2005, about two months after I started in Springs, the Office of Special Investigations of the New York City Board of Education issued a final report,” wrote Mr. Casale. “This was never shared with me, presumably because I had resigned my position.”

    Earlier this week, The Star filed a Freedom of Information request with the New York City Department of Education attempting to obtain a copy of the report in question. David Pena, a D.O.E. spokesperson, confirmed that Mr. Casale resigned in July of 2005 pending an investigation. In an e-mail, he also said that “if he were to re-apply to work for the N.Y.C. Department of Education, his file would have a problem code that would flag his applications as needing further investigation.”

    “A single allegation against me was substantiated by the investigator based largely on the testimony of two staff members: that I had failed to report my knowledge of the testing allegation to the director of testing,” wrote Mr. Casale in his letter. “Of course, I did report it — to my superintendent of schools. But no matter; as a result, I was put on a special list regarding any future employment inquiries in N.Y.C. schools. No further action was taken against me, and no charges of ‘cover up’ or ‘destruction of evidence’ were alleged or substantiated against me.”

    “I want to assure you,” he concluded, “that I am in good standing with the New York State Education Department and that both of my licenses are permanent. I hope to be here at Springs for the rest of my career, as I have come to love Springs and its children, who I treat as my own.”

    A call to Mr. Casale went unreturned.

    Some have speculated that recent allegations have put a cloud over the school’s academic gains. During the 2011-12 school year, for instance, Springs was ranked 69th in New York State among middle schools, according to School Digger, a Web site that ranks schools according to state testing data.

    “Eric’s reputation is one of the most respected administrators in terms of testing security and organization. He has an impeccable reputation among the local districts,” said Mr. Grant. “With his career over the past eight years, he’s made transformational change at Springs. You really have to look at his record.”

    As it concerns potential wrongdoing insofar as state exams are concerned, Mr. Grant emphasized that the recent allegation concerned “one student and one staff member.”

    “We don’t believe there’s anything widespread. Still, I’d like the Testing Integrity Unit to take a look at whatever they need to in order to prove that the allegations in fact involve one student and one staff member,” Mr. Grant said.

Movie al Fresco

    It’s that special time of year when it’s finally, hopefully, warm enough to watch a movie outside under the stars. The Springs School PTA has invited kids to do just that with an outdoor movie night tomorrow featuring the animated film “Wreck-It Ralph.” It starts at sundown, not long after 8. Admission is free and drinks and popcorn will be available for purchase.

Dads, Books, and Beaches

    In the lead-up to Father’s Day, summer, and the summer-long Battle of the Books trivia contest, this week will be a busy one at the East Hampton Library. The titles for the countywide Battle of the Books will be revealed to potential trivia team members on Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. Teams of readers entering sixth through ninth grades meet weekly on Thursdays in preparation for a face-off with other library teams at Stony Brook University on Aug. 10. Kids 4 and older can create their own beach scenes using shells, rocks, and other collage materials on Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m. Adults must accompany the young artists. On Wednesday, daughters and sons 7 and older will make homemade barbecue sauce for their dads, for which they will create their own labels. Those who take a photo to the session, which is from 4 to 5 p.m., will be able to have it copied at the library for a personalized label. A Father’s Day story and craft time next Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. will have 4 to 6-year-olds listening to a story about dads and making something special for the fathers in their lives. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. Advance registration has been requested for all programs.

“Pump Up the Volume”

    Tickets are on sale now for Dancehampton’s annual recital on June 8 and 9 at East Hampton High School. The East Hampton studio teaches ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz, hip-hop, Irish step, and musical theater classes to dancers from preschool to high school age. “Pump Up the Volume” is its sixth annual show, with performances scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 8 and 3 p.m. on June 9. Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased in advance at the Dancehampton studio at 15 Lumber Lane, across from the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter.

Zoo-La-La

    Zoo creatures will take over the Amagansett Library on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Following a zoo story, families can make lion masks to take home. The program is free, but advance registration has been requested.

    After months of haggling over budgets and whether to pierce the state-imposed 2-percent cap on tax levy increases, the voters have spoken, approving school budgets from Bridgehampton to Montauk by wide margins and electing new school board members.

    Shortly after the polls closed in East Hampton on Tuesday night, Kerri Clark, the district clerk, announced that voters had approved its $64.2 million budget by a margin of 561 to 122 votes.

    Voters in Springs passed a $25.4 million budget by 383 to 117 votes — or nearly 77 percent. Bridgehampton saw its $11.2 million budget approved by 137 to 50, while in Amagansett, a $10.2 million budget was okayed 127 to 25. And in Montauk the margin for an $18.7 million budget was 218 to 50.

    Out of six candidates competing for three openings on the East Hampton School Board, Wendy Geehreng, J.P. Foster, and Richard Wilson walked away triumphant. Alison Anderson, the lone incumbent, had sought a second three-year term, but she placed second to last. George Aman and Lauren Dempsey, incumbents, had decided not to run again.

    Ms. Geehreng received 450 votes, Mr. Foster 430, and Mr. Wilson 302. The unsuccessful candidates were Nicholas Boland, with 277 votes, Ms. Anderson, with 246, and Mary Ella Moeller with only 183.

    The $64.2 million East Hampton budget includes a 5.53-percent tax rate increase. Despite the board cutting nearly $1 million since first reviewing the budget earlier this year, it represents a 2.21-percent increase over last year. The estimated increase of 5.01 percent in the tax levy meets the state-mandated 2-percent cap once exemptions are taken into account.

    In Springs, Eric Casale, the principal, called to report Tuesday evening’s results, noting that the 383-to-117 positive vote, represented nearly 77 percent.

    The two seats on the Springs School Board went to Jeff Miller, who received 437 votes, and Adam Wilson, with 392. The third candidate, Martin Drew, received 78 votes. Neither Kathee Burke-Gonzalez nor Teresa Schurr, current board members, sought re-election.

    Next year’s $25.4 million budget in Springs includes a tax levy increase of 1.3 percent and a projected tax rate increase of 3.37 percent. By comparison, last year’s $24.6 million budget included a 2.97 percent increase in the tax levy and a 3.19-percent increase in the tax rate.

    Bridgehampton voters not only approved its $11.2 million budget, but went for two propositions, including a $160,000 increase in spending for the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center and an increase in transportation services, which is expected to total $60,525.

    According to Jeannine Stallings, the district clerk, the transportation increase is the result of expanded eligibility criteria for students in grades 9 to 12 — from the current distance of 15 miles to 25 miles. Voters also elected three members to the Bridgehampton School board. The incumbents, Lawrence LaPointe and Gabriella Braia, received 143 and 113 votes, while Jennifer Vinski, a newcomer, received 147 votes. Bridgehampton also had three write-in candidates: Ms. Stallings received 11 votes and Bruce Bombkowski and Philip Cammann each received one vote.

    Cheryl Bloecker, the Amagansett district clerk, reported the 127-to-25 vote approving the budget. Two school board members, John Hossenlopp and Victoria Smudzinski, were re-elected, having run unopposed. Mr. Hossenlopp received 102 votes; Ms. Smudzinski 97.

    Additionally, Amagansett voters approved a proposal to use $225,000 in capital reserve funds to upgrade security.

    As in other districts the $18.7 million budget in Montauk was approved with a comfortable, 218 to 50, margin, according to Jack Perna, the superintendent. The one vacancy on the Montauk School Board went to Lee White, who beat out Honora Herlihy by 160 to 101 votes. The term is five years. After 29 years of service, Therese Watson did not seek re-election.

    Meanwhile, in Sagaponack, 42 voters approved its $1.7 million budget. Two voted no, while one voter abstained. Cathy Hatgistavrou, an incumbent, ran unopposed for an additional three-year term, which begins July 1. She received 44 votes with 1 abstention.

    Wainscott voters approved an approximately $3.5 million budget by 41 to 1, according to Mary McCaffrey, the district clerk. William A. Babinksi Jr., who received 39 votes, was elected to serve on its three-seat board of trustees. Two write-in candidates — Catherine Dickinson and Bill Costello — each received one vote.

    The budgets in other South Fork districts were also approved handily. In Sag Harbor, where the school board has seen considerable dissention this year, a $35,508,622 budget was approved 825 to 377. And, in Southampton, the yes votes for a $61,877,948 budget numbered 402 to 100 opposed.

Paint Like Pollock

    Family tours and drip-painting workshops will return to the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs on Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Joyce Raimondo will lead the workshop this weekend and every Saturday starting June 29. The cost is $35 per person. Advance registration has been requested via e-mail at [email protected] or online at imaginearted.com.

Seeds and Stories

    Kids will have two chances to get their hands dirty at the Amagansett Library this weekend. After a family story time on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., Nick Stephens of the Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett will lead a tomato seedling planting session. On Sunday at 1:30 p.m., kids in second grade and above and adults have been invited to make biodegradable origami sunflower planters out of newspaper. Advance registration has been requested for both programs.

Summer Kick-Off

    The Children’s Museum of the East End and Super Soccer Stars will literally kick off the season this weekend with kite-making and soccer skills sessions at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. The fun is free and open to all.

    Residents of the Amagansett School District can vote on the proposed school budget for the 2013-14 school year on Tuesday between 2 and 8 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Voter registration begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.

    The school board has proposed a 2013-14 budget of $10.2 million, an increase in expenditures of 5.68 percent and a tax levy increase of 3.33 percent. The tax levy increase would be the second lowest in the past 12 years and is within the allowable tax levy cap threshold of 3.45 percent.

    A simple majority of votes cast is required for approval of the budget.

    Employee benefits, including the teachers’ and employees’ retirement systems, account for the largest increase in the proposed budget, said Eleanor Tritt, the school’s superintendent. Contributions to these benefits are mandated by the state, which sets the rate to be paid into the retirement systems. Salaries and support related to students with special needs are also behind the increase, Ms. Tritt said, as well as health insurance costs.

    Voters will be asked to authorize using the school’s capital reserve fund for new security systems. The fund was established in 2007, Ms. Tritt said, for upgrades to technology, energy efficiency, and security, the latter to be accomplished with this authorization.

    District residents can also vote for members of the school board. There are two seats available for a three-year term. The candidates, John Hossenlopp and Victoria Smudzinski, are currently members of the board and running unopposed. Mr. Hossenlopp, the president, has been on the board since March 2001. He is a member of the Amagansett Fire Department and is retired from practicing law. Ms. Smudzinski, who works in real estate, has been on the board since July 2007.

    A voter must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, and a district resident for at least 30 days prior to Tuesday. Voters do not have to own property, be a parent, or have children in the school. Absentee ballots are available at the school.   

    Two candidates are running for one five-year term on the Montauk School Board. The open seat is being vacated by Therese Watson after 29 years. The candidates, Lee White and Honora Herlihy, both have children in the school.

    Mr. White has served on the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals for 12 years. He graduated from Gettysburg College with a degree in business management and a concentration in finance and accounting. He manages properties and watches houses for Lycke Home Services. He is an assistant real estate appraiser and also works at the Harvest on Fort Pond restaurant as a food expediter and bartender.

    He has two children with his partner, Mary Jo Walker — Andy, who is 5 and in kindergarten, and Jolee, who is 3.

    Mr. White is running to focus attention on what he calls the unfairness of the state-imposed 2-percent cap on tax levy increases. His plan is to explore reasonable alternatives to program cuts and consolidated classes. He said he would like to be an open and approachable board member.

    His opponent, Ms. Herlihy, owned the Montauk Carriage House for 10 years before selling her lease in January. She said she is running because Ms. Watson’s exit offered her the opportunity. “I have time now and my children are in this school,” she said on Tuesday after attending a school board meeting.

    She is interested in school security and the safety of Montauk students. She is also concentrating on the school’s curriculum because “that’s what a school is about.”

    Ms. Herlihy graduated from the State University at Cobleskill with a degree in business. She also has degrees from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in fashion merchandising and production management. She served on the Fashion Institute’s board in 1993 and 1994. She has been a member of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors as well as a regular chamber member. For the last three years she has been a Cub Scout leader.

    She is married to Gerald Herlihy and has two children, Aydin, a third grader, and Paige, who is in kindergarten. She said she has a lot to learn and looks forward to the chance to serve.

    “This will consume a substantial amount of time. But right now I have the time,” she said.

    The vote is on Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym. The district will also be deciding the fate of an $18.7 million budget, which reflects an increase of $180,882 from this year’s, with a spending increase of 0.98 percent and a tax rate increase of 0.87 percent.