Board Makes Appointments

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.