When voters from Sagaponack to Montauk head to the polls here on Tuesday, no matter what school district they’re in, they’ll find budgets for the 2026-27 academic year that are tax-cap compliant. The districts have managed to preserve all of their programs and services without piercing the cap, which means the budgets need only a simple majority to pass. The smallest schools, Wainscott and Sagaponack, have both reduced their budgets and are asking for approval for spending plans that are at or below the tax cap. Amagansett, Montauk, Sag Harbor, Springs, and East Hampton are increasing their budgets but also keeping them at or below the cap.
Three districts have additional propositions on their ballots. East Hampton is the standout, with three bond propositions worth just over $128 million. If approved, they would bring a new swimming pool and indoor athletic facility to the high school, along with upgrades to all three school buildings and campuses in the district.
Amagansett is looking to buy a new school bus and increase board members’ terms from three to five years. Sag Harbor would like to purchase three new buses. Montauk hopes to establish a new repair reserve fund, something East Hampton and Springs voters approved last May. Sagaponack, Springs, and Wainscott have no additional propositions on their ballots.
All seven districts have board seats opening at the end of the school year. East Hampton is the only district with more candidates than seats. Emily Agnello and John Ryan Sr., both incumbents, and Kimberly Sarris Royal, a newcomer, are competing for two seats.
AMAGANSETT
Proposed budget: $14,468,211
Spending increase: $519,808 (3.7 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.61 percent (below tax cap)
Details: The budget preserves all current programs and services. These include “early childhood education and extended school day and school year programs . . . art, music, foreign language, science, STEM, physical education, and social emotional learning.” Funding for additional ballot measures will come from a reserve account, meaning they are not expected to further increase taxes. Taxes on a typical house assessed at $6,000 (the fair market value would be about $1 million) would rise by about $51 for the year.
Additional proposition: Authorization to buy a new school bus from 2015 capital reserve funds.
Additional proposition: Authorization of an increase in the terms of school board members from three years to five years.
Library budget proposition: $1,669,675
Board candidates (three open seats): Addie Slater-Davison (incumbent), Dawn Rana-Brophy (incumbent), and Joseph Lupo (incumbent, appointed in January; running for remaining two years of term)
Voting hours: 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym
EAST HAMPTON
Proposed budget: $89,924,342
Spending increase: $1,783,495 (2.02 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.22 percent (tax-cap compliant)
Details: The budget preserves all academic programs for prekindergarten through 12th grade, allocates funds for necessary mandatory costs (including unprecedented increases in insurance, fuel, and equipment costs), and transfers $1.23 million for a boiler replacement project at the East Hampton Middle School. “I give kudos to my administrators for putting together a reasonable and responsible budget that maintains current levels of service, adding small things to their programs,” said Adam Fine, the superintendent. “There aren’t any massive new things because we just don’t have the money to do it, but there are no cuts. . . . The team here has done a great job.” Taxes on a house with an assessed value of $6,000 are expected to increase by $7.36 a month or $88.31 a year.
Additional Proposition 1: Capital improvements at all three schools totaling $63,964,974 that will have no impact on taxes, including a renovated auditorium, stadium lights, and outdoor bathrooms at the high school, along with a mobile concession trailer for use throughout the district. All schools will also receive security and mechanical upgrades.
Additional Proposition 2: An indoor pool built at East Hampton High School for $45,680,000 that will also be available for community use. Can only pass if Proposition 1 passes.
Additional Proposition 3: An indoor athletic space with a basketball court and an indoor turf practice field built at the high school for $18,535,000 that will also be available for community use. Can only pass if Proposition 2 also passes.
Board candidates (two open seats, three-year term): Emily Agnello (incumbent), John Ryan Sr. (incumbent), and Kimberly Sarris Royal.
Voting hours: 1 to 8 p.m. in the district office at the high school.
MONTAUK
Proposed budget: $25,674,383
Spending increase: $1,110,269 (4.52 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.81 percent (below tax cap)
Details: The budget represents a moderate increase to maintain program and staffing levels while adjusting for increases in fixed costs such as health insurance, labor, and maintenance. The district is utilizing reserve funds to offset the budget increase and keep the tax-levy increase as low as possible. Plans for upgrades include purchasing three buses to complete the replacement of an aging fleet and modernizing security systems. Josh Odom, the superintendent, said the budget allows the Montauk School to maintain all of its student programs, while staying mindful of the cap -- especially after taxpayers approved a 20-year, $34.8 million bond that will pay for extensive school renovations. “We’re very cognizant of the fact that we just passed a bond and everything the community fought for there, and we’re very thankful for that,” he said. Taxes on a house with an assessed value of $6,000 are expected to increase by $5.70 a month or $68.46 a year.
Additional proposition: A second proposition will appear on this year’s ballot to fund a repair reserve with up to $750,000 of unreserved unappropriated fund balance from the 2025-26 fiscal year. The funding of this reserve is through savings already possessed by the district and carries no additional taxpayer impact.
Board candidates (one open seat, five-year term): Nick Finazzo (incumbent)
Voting hours: 2 to 8 p.m. in the school gym
SAG HARBOR
Proposed budget: $53,564,745
Spending increase: $1,204,291 (2.3 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.95 percent (below tax cap)
Details: “Together, this proposed budget reflects a clear priority: sustaining the programs and opportunities that enable our students to excel, while remaining diligent in our efforts to safeguard community resources,” the school district said in a recent budget breakdown.
Additional proposition: Authorize spending $385,000 on three new school buses including a wheelchair model from the transportation fleet capital reserve fund.
Board candidates (three seats open): Alex Kriegsman (incumbent), Sandi Kruel (incumbent), and Dan Marsili (incumbent)
Voting hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Pierson High School gym
SAGAPONACK
Proposed budget: $2,020,169
Spending decrease: -$65,314 (-3.13 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.24 percent (at tax cap)
Details: While the Sagaponack budget for next year will decrease, all programs for the 18 to 19 prekindergarten through third-grade students expected to attend the Little Red Schoolhouse in the 2026-27 school year will remain intact, according to the district treasurer, Robert Doyle. It’s a spending plan that “allows us to base those programs on the individual needs of our students.” The program budget, which includes things like teacher salaries and benefits, books, computers, psychological services, transportation, and tuition to the East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Bridgehampton School Districts, makes up the bulk of the district’s budget -- $1.43 million. In the district’s program budget for the 2026-27 school year there is $417,911 in salaries for regular-education teachers, aides, and assistants and $22,750 for speech and other services for students with disabilities. The district has budgeted $218,364 for tuition to East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Bridgehampton for regular-education students in fourth grade and above (families have a choice among the three districts) and $258,489 in tuition for students with disabilities. It plans $110,000 for transportation, a nearly $79,000 decrease from this year. Employee benefits add another $324,618 to next year’s budget, a slight increase from this year.
Board candidates (one open seat): Alexandra Lopez (first-time candidate)
Voting hours: 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sagaponack School
SPRINGS
Proposed budget: $39,064,816
Spending increase: $653,025 (1.78 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 2.25 percent (tax-cap compliant)
Details: Double-digit property insurance rates increases are “costs outside of the district’s control but are essential in the protection of the district and the taxpayers,” Nancy Carney, the superintendent, said in a presentation to the school board. This year, the district is facing a 14-percent increase in those costs, which Ms. Carney said have been growing over the last five years. Increases in security staffing and supplies were also noted.
Board candidates (two open seats): Patrick Brabant (incumbent) and Katie Sarris (incumbent)
Voting hours: 1 to 9 p.m. in the school library
WAINSCOTT
Proposed budget: $4,982,252 million
Spending decrease: -$8,110 (-.16 percent)
Tax-levy increase: 0 percent (below tax cap)
Details: The Wainscott School District educates its prekindergarten through third-grade students in-house, while sending its older students to the Bridgehampton, East Hampton, or Sag Harbor districts. Next year’s budget will be slightly lower than this year’s, and there is no anticipated increase in the tax levy. Despite that, the district’s superintendent, Deborah Haab, said “the current level of student programs and opportunities remain intact.” That’s thanks in part to an agreement in the 2026-27 school year “and potentially beyond” through which Wainscott is partnering with East Hampton “to provide transportation, building maintenance, and custodial services at a reduced cost,” Ms. Haab said. The school has 17 students this year and expects the same number next year.
Board candidates (one open seat): David Eagan (incumbent)
Voting hours: 2 to 8 p.m. at the new schoolhouse
By Alison Morris Roslyn,
Leigh Goodstein, and Carissa Katz