Montauk residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to approve a 20-year, $34.8 million bond that will fund an extensive renovation of the Montauk School.
Josh Odom, the school's principal and superintendent, announced the results to a small group gathered in the gymnasium just before 9 p.m., about an hour after the polls closed. Residents had been voting since 2 p.m. on two propositions – the first to approve the bond for the renovation project, and a second to allow the district to spend $2.9 million it already has in capital savings to address more immediate infrastructure needs.
"I love suspense," he began, before quickly reading out the numbers – 508 votes in favor of the bond proposal to 262 against, and 546 votes in favor of the capital savings proposal to 160 against.
An earlier version of the proposal, which had included a $38.4 million bond, was rejected by a narrow margin during a referendum in May, drawing 318 votes in favor and 361 against. The construction plans have since been reconfigured to reduce the total cost of the project by about 10 percent, and school officials have held multiple information sessions to explain the planned developments to the community.
Most of the money will cover upgrades to the school building itself, which was built in 1927 and has not undergone a major renovation in more than 25 years. The structure also recently received a designation of "unsatisfactory" in a state-mandated building condition survey.
Plans include a new full-size gym, expanded library facilities, removing poorly insulated portable classrooms that were built outside the gym in 1970s, and increasing classroom space within the building, adding adult bathrooms, and transforming the school's current gym into a flexible space for performing arts and music programs, assemblies, and communal lunches.
The bond will also fund a $1.8 million project to rebuild the Fisher house, a residence that was owned by Robert Fisher, a former principal and superintendent of the school who retired in 1978. (Not to be confused with the Carl Fisher House, a locally designated historic landmark that was bought by the Town of East Hampton in 2021.)
Mr. Fisher's widow left the house to the district in her will, and, according to the proposal, the couple expressly intended that it house future superintendents, though its present condition prevents it from fulfilling that purpose. According to the plan, it will be rebuilt as a three-bedroom, three-bathroom ranch house, with a dedicated storage area in the basement for district use.
The approval of the bond will result in a tax increase to Montauk residents – according to a calculation provided by the district, it will cost an average homeowner with a house valued at $1.5 million about $31 a month, or $372 a year. The capital savings project will not impact taxes.
"I have to start just by saying thank you to everyone involved – thank you to the board of education, thank you to my community partners, thank you to the community of Montauk for supporting the school," Mr. Odom said after announcing the results. "This is a really special moment in time for us, and we're very proud to be a part of it."
The school will now begin the planning process, he said, to work out "the actual nuts and bolts of everything," and will then send the plans up to the state for approval.