At another heated community meeting on Nov. 19, Montauk School officials tried once again to convince residents to support a new 20-year $34.87 million bond referendum that includes essential upgrades to the school. This time, the superintendent, Josh Odom, led the presentation.
“These things will always be divisive because you’re talking about dollars and cents,” Mr. Odom said. “But I have a sanitary system that needs to be done now. I have one working adult bathroom at the school.”
The school renovations — which include building a new gymnasium and science lab, replacing portable classrooms built in 1972, improving A.D.A. accessibility, and adding adult bathrooms, among other things—didn’t spark much of the controversy at the latest meeting, although some residents expressed concern about the price tag.
“There are a lot of people in this community on fixed incomes and this is a tough nut to crack,” said Barbara Grimes, who was expecting the bond amount to be smaller.
The biggest issue at all of the community forums thus far is the Fisher house, a residence on South Dewitt Place donated by a former superintendent, Robert Fisher, and his wife, and intended to house the district superintendent. The prevailing gripe? Plans to use part of the house for district storage.
“The Fishers gave a wonderful house to the school and because of neglect, it now needs to be rebuilt or renovated,” said Melissa Weldon. “There’s no storage there now. It is a residential home in a residential neighborhood.”
While the school board has repeatedly assured residents that it is willing to consider alternative storage locations, it is too late to remove that language from the bond, which will be a subject of a Dec. 9 vote.
“We didn’t anticipate people would feel so strongly about this,” said LeighAnn Hess, a board member. “We intend to be good neighbors. We can’t take it off
the proposal now, so our hands are tied.” Superintendent Odom said the district explored storage options on the school grounds, but the costs were exorbitant: $7 million to put storage under the new gymnasium, and $3 to $4 million to add storage buildings to the property. Rebuilding the Fisher house with space for storage in the basement and the garage will cost $1.8 million.
“The purpose of every basement and garage is storage,” Mr. Odom said. Given the controversy, Ms. Grimes suggested the board delay the vote. “It doesn’t feel like you’re ready to bring this to the community,” she said. The board reiterated that a vote in 2026 will only raise the bond’s price tag.
The final community meeting on the bond referendum is Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. at Montauk School. Voting will take place Dec. 9 from 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym. Voters who are unable to vote in person can find absentee ballot applications on the Montauk School website.