As school districts across the East End tallied budget and school board votes Tuesday night, all eyes were on Montauk, where a $38.41 million renovation bond ended up failing by just 43 votes, with a record number of people weighing in.
Montauk's budget passed as did budgets in Sag Harbor and all of the districts that send students to East Hampton schools, and there were no upsets in the few contested board races. Voters in Sagaponack, Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs also all approved new five-year tuition agreements with East Hampton.
In Montauk 692 people cast votes, 671 of them in person and 21 by absentee ballot. Last year, only 188 people voted. The $24.56 million budget passed 403 to 280; the bond vote was 318 "yes" and 361 "no."
“I really just want to thank everyone in the community who participated in this renovation bond vote,” said Joshua Odom, superintendent and principal of the Montauk School, after the official results had been read. “And while the outcome is not what we hoped for, we respect the decision of the voters, and we remain deeply committed to the needs of our student, our staff, and our school community.”
The bond was meant to fund a major renovation for the school, which would have included a new gymnasium and improvements to the current building. Mr. Odom thanked the school board, the PTA, and the team at BBS Architects, who developed the proposal. “They're tremendous,” Mr. Odom said, “and for everyone who devoted time and energy to this proposal, your work sparked important conversations about the future of our school.”
In the lead-up to the vote, Mr. Odom held several informational sessions in the community to talk about the problems that board and administration were hoping to fix with the renovation.
“We know there's things that have to be addressed,” Mr. Odom said, “so we’ll make an alternate plan that's perhaps more palatable to the community and we move forward.”
Another proposition to use nearly $2.93 million from the school’s capital savings to upgrade the HVAC systems and demolish and rebuild the Fisher house on the school property also failed but by a smaller margin, with 334 voting "yes" and 342 voting "no." The tuition contract was approved 470 to 210.
Leigh-Ann Hess, current PTA president, was elected to the open school board seat for a five-year term, receiving 368 votes. There were 200 write-in votes cast, 193 of those for Tara Coleman, who mounted a write-in campaign for the seat.
Springs
In Springs, the $38.41 million budget passed easily on Tuesday, with 244 voting for it and 50 against.
Voters also approved two propositions, one authorizing a new five-year tuition agreement with the East Hampton School District and another reauthorizing a repair reserve fund. The district will be allowed to set aside up to $7.5 million over time, some of which comes from an existing repair fund and some of which will come from excess balances.
The incumbent school board members, Erik Fredrickson and Emma Field, each finishing their first three-year terms, were re-elected with 238 and 259 votes. Gerard Picco, who was running for the first time, got 43 votes.
Mr. Fredrickson, the school board president, is the C.E.O. of the Fredrickson Consulting Group. A parent of three, he is also a fitness coach and volunteer youth sports coach. Ms. Field, who works in her family's general contracting business, has a background in art and design. She is a mother of three who grew up in East Hampton.
Amagansett
In Amagansett, Wayne Gauger, the president of the school board, and Kristen Peterson, a longtime member and former president, were re-elected to three-year terms, prevailing over a challenger, and voters overwhelmingly passed the school's 2025-26 budget.
Ms. Peterson, a 10-year member of the board, won 159 votes, and Mr. Gauger won a second term with 148 votes. Joseph Karpinski, a critic of the board and a parent of three students at the school, got 74 votes. He declared his candidacy after Maria Dorr, the principal, was found not guilty and reinstated following a monthslong hearing over the alleged 2023 theft of an envelope containing a gift card.
Also Tuesday, voters approved the district's $14.05 million budget, 174 in favor and 38 opposed. They supported the tuition agreement with East Hampton 188-24. Under the agreement Amagansett will send its seventh through 12th graders exclusively to East Hampton schools.
A proposition to authorize the district to appropriate $162,887 from a capital reserve fund to purchase a new school bus was also approved, with 183 in favor and 29 opposed, and voters said "yes" to authorizing the district to create a new capital reserve fund, 169 in favor to 39 opposed.
The Amagansett Library's budget proposition for $1.52 million, which does not impact school taxes, was also approved, 174 in favor and 36 opposed.
East Hampton
The East Hampton School District's proposed 2025-26 budget -- an $88.14 million spending plan -- passed with 271 voting for it and 42 against it. Voters also supported a proposition to spend just over $3.28 million from the capital reserve fund for a new playground at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and a new science research lab at the high school. Neither project will impact taxes, as the money has already been set aside. The vote was 280 to 33.
East Hampton received the go-ahead by a vote of 271 to 36 to establish a repair reserve fund that will allow the district to save up to $7.5 million over time and a new capital reserve fund that can accrue up to $10 million over time (278 to 39).
The incumbent school board candidates James (J.P.) Foster and Sandra Vorpahl and the newcomer, Belinda Bellas, were running unopposed for the three open seats on the board. Mr. Foster, the board president, got 278 votes, Ms. Vorpahl 290, and Ms. Bellas 246.
Sag Harbor
In Sag Harbor, the proposed $52.36 million budget passed with 369 saying "yes" and 76 "no." Voters also supported a proposition to use $975,000 from the capital reserve fund for repairs to the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems(394-52). Two incumbents, Grainne Coen and Ronald Reed, were running unopposed to keep their seats. They got 379 and 373 votes respectively.
Sagaponack
Sagaponack voters approved the district's $2.085 million budget 23-0, and okayed the tuition agreement with East Hempton 21-2. Sagaponack families can choose between Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton, or East Hampton schools for fourth through 12th grades. Voters also okayed agreements to that effect with both districts. Elizabeth Barton won the uncontested race for school board.