Montauk School officials made two final appeals to the community ahead of a bond referendum coming up on Tuesday, dedicating a Dec. 2 school board meeting to the Fisher house. The residence on South Dewitt Place has been a hot-button issue ahead of the vote.
Robert Fisher, a former district superintendent, and his wife donated the property as superintendent housing. It represents just $1.8 million of the 20-year, $34.87 million bond, which largely focuses on essential school upgrades. But plans to renovate the dilapidated house and use its basement for storage have created controversy, especially among a group of South Dewitt residents who have been vocal at recent meetings.
"The house was not maintained and was used in a way that was not Mr. Fisher's intention at all," said Christine Weldon, who grew up across the street from the house, accusing the district of mismanaging the property when it rented it out in the past. "The first family that lived there had chicken coops and farm animals. The next family was running an auto body shop out of the garage."
The school board has repeatedly told voters that the house will be rebuilt solely as the superintendent's home, with district storage in the basement for things like seasonal decorations, popcorn and cotton candy machines, and other items that would normally go in a garage or shed. It's too late to remove the storage language from the bond referendum ahead of the vote, but Kelly White, the board president, sought to reassure voters about finding a solution.
"We can't remove the wording, but we are here to work with you," Ms. White said. "We're trying to improve the appearance of the home."
Nick Finazzo, a school board member who has led the Fisher house presentations at all the community meetings this fall, told residents that there are no plans to bring additional traffic or commercial vehicles to the neighborhood. "It's not zoned commercially and we're not trying to make it commercial. You're deeming it a storage facility. It's a basement."
Mr. Finazzo also made a case that the house is an important asset to attract strong leadership to the school in the future. The house is at present the only benefit Montauk offers the superintendent/principal outside of his $266,325 salary. All the neighboring districts offer insurance buyouts and pay roughly $100,000 more. Many of them also offer 403(b) retirement savings plans. Mr. Finazzo has said the house enables the district to attract talented candidates who can't afford to live in Montauk and is cheaper than a housing stipend.
"Instead of giving a stipend which would cost the district 20 percent over the amount of the stipend because of [Federal Insurance Contributions Act] and other costs, we have this house," he said. Additionally, Mr. Finazzo denied rumors that the current superintendent, Josh Odom, is receiving a stipend while he is unable to live in the Fisher house.
Many meeting attendees in favor of the bond have remained quiet, electing not to get into the fray, except for a member of the chamber of commerce who asked whether anyone really believed the superintendent would move into a home and allow it to fall back into disrepair or become a commercial storage unit. He asserted that the house is distracting from the real issue — making the Montauk School the best possible facility for students.
Meanwhile, at the Point Bar and Grill the same night as the meeting, several residents said they wouldn't support a tax increase whatsoever.
A second community forum, on Wednesday this week, was the most well attended thus far. Mr. Odom started it by leading a tour of the portable classrooms off the school's gym. They were built in 1972 and will be demolished if the bond is approved. The tour enabled voters to see firsthand how challenging it is for students to learn in classrooms that are noisy, leaking, and often either too hot or too cold. One parent noted that her daughter often wears shorts under her sweatpants so she can remove layers when she has class in the portable rooms.
The second portion of the meeting took place in the gym, which is to be converted into a multipurpose space to serve as a lunchroom and music room. Students now eat lunch in their classrooms because the school has no cafeteria. Meanwhile, the band practices backstage in the gym because there is no dedicated music room.
The plan is to build a new gymnasium to better accommodate the student-athletes. The current gym's ceiling is too low for volleyball games, forcing teams to go to the Montauk Playhouse.
After hearing the presentation — which included a much briefer summary and dispute over the Fisher house — George Watson, owner of the Dock restaurant, mentioned past renovations to the Montauk Library. "This reminds me of the debate over getting a new library," he said. "We got the library. I think we need this."
If it's approved, more than $33 million of the $34.87 million bond will cover crucial upgrades to the 98-year-old school — upgrades that include building a new science lab, improving Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility, and adding adult bathrooms. The bond would cost the average Montauk homeowner with a $1.5 million house about $31 a month, or roughly $379 a year.
A second, separate item on the ballot, $2.9 million in capital savings, will not raise taxes. It's money the district has saved but needs voter approval to spend. Those funds will correct immediate infrastructure issues such as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning upgrades, boiler leaks, CO2 detectors, and A.D.A. accessibility.
Fallon Nigro, a parent and Montauk School graduate, called those improvements essential.
"Honestly, I think the most important thing in the community is our children, most importantly their safety," she said. "On top of safety, offering them opportunity and the ability to keep up with their peers in other districts is really important. I was blessed enough to go here, and I love the school that it was, but nothing's changed."
While the bond proposal may not be a perfect solution, and Mr. Odom himself told the board not to include the Fisher house, he still believes this is the best path forward: "The good stuff happens in the imperfections and the good stuff happens in our collaborations. This is a huge opportunity for us. Perfect will never happen, but good will and great will. I hope to see you next Tuesday."
On that day, from 2 to 8 p.m. in the Montauk School gym, voters will decide whether they want to collaborate and what matters most to them — keeping taxes steady, modernizing Montauk's only school, or removing storage space from the Fisher house renovation plans.
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This article has been updated from its print version.