Estimated Costs of Wants and Needs as Part of East Hampton Bond Proposition Unveiled During Latest Forum

East Hampton Superintendent of Schools Adam Fine said $27 million would be left in the current bond proposition for items on the district’s wants list.

A total of $36 million of the proposed $64 million will be used after adding the all-in costs for the needs of each of the district’s three schools. The $64 million figure is what East Hampton could spend to replace expiring debt while keeping taxes relatively flat.

“We tried very hard to lower the amount of money of the needs to open up the wants a little more, but at some point, you know,” Fine said during the third of four community forums November 12. “You can only take so many things off that are $500,000, $200,000, $300,000.”

The biggest ticket item on the needs list is a total renovation of the high school auditorium, originally built in the 1970s. The overhaul is projected to cost $14 million.

“I was principal here for 10 years. That high school auditorium needs to be redone, and it can’t be redone cheaply,” Fine said.

The high school’s roof over the auditorium, gymnasium and rear wing also needs to be replaced for $3,824,400, and outdoor bathrooms swapped out with ones that are Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, for $1.4 million. Security upgrades to each of the three schools will cost $1 million per building.

“I don’t think we can put a dollar value on the safety and security of our kids,” the superintendent said.

Other items on the needs list at the high school include gym flooring replacements for $595,200, track resurfacing costing $540,000 and a concession trailer for $200,000.

At the middle school, new window installations will cost $3,939,660, boiler replacements $1,440,000 and air conditioning upgrades $1,080,000. Auditorium roofing will come in at $583,800, masonry work $420,000, a fire escape enclosure $342,000 and stairway glass $95,000.

At the elementary school, roofing over the gym, K wing, K corridor and flat areas will total $1,770,114, wall work $1,674,000, class bathroom renovations $1,000,200 and mechanical work $1,000,200. A new gym sound system is estimated to cost $250,000 and masonry repair $150,000.

Currently, needs at the high school total $21 million, $8 million at the middle school and $6 million at the elementary school.

Adding up the wants of school staff and what was gathered from community input, there’s $75 million worth of wants for high school, $6 million at the middle school and $6 million at the elementary school.

An indoor pool at the high school would come with the highest sticker price, at $43,680,000, while an indoor athletic facility could cost $18,535,000 and a cosmetology lab, $2,428,800.

“These are what they call in the trade ‘fully loaded numbers,’” Assistant Superintendent for Business Sam Schneider said of the figures. “This is the construction costs as they are projected now plus the fees you have to pay the architect, advertising for the bid — all of the overhead and testing, like of soil for a pool.”

A mechanical rooftop HVAC system is being considered for $2,520,000, a new turf field for $1,932,000, a jogging track for $1.5 million, tennis court replacements for $1.8 million and stadium lights for $1,380,000. Bleachers, for the baseball field and others, turfing the softball field, a press box and new scoreboards have also been added to the list.

At the middle school, the most costly want is renovations to the auditorium, totaling $5 million. The creation of a life skills classroom would cost $516,000, a science lab $510,000 and an English as a new language classroom $420,000.

New classrooms for life skills and a multipurpose space for music and sensory needs at John M. Marshall Elementary School would cost $3.5 million, a new turf field $1,932,000, gym flooring $300,000, office renovations $150,000 and a gym stage $80,000.

East Hampton resident Caitlyn MacDonald, who lives on Dayton Lane, asked for sound dampening for the air conditioning system at the elementary school, which is estimated to cost $100,000.

“There’s a lot of noise coming from the facility over the summer season,” she said.

The cooling system runs to keep the classrooms at a state-mandated temperature, and also helps offset the moisture, with dehumidifiers in each of the classroom. Schneider said the system is energy efficient, running on a schedule to keep the temperature to code.

Parent Cara Weaver, who is also an occupational therapist in the district, asked that space needs at the elementary school be addressed.

“It feels like we’re busting at the seams,” she said. “Children are storing instruments and having lessons in the hallway. Workers have come in to see if my closet could be an office.”

Principal Karen Kuneth said teachers and paraprofessionals are on folding chairs in the gym when having building-wide meetings, and said they’re so tight for space in the library it’s not even feasible.

Schneider said there are two barely viable options, though the project has not been scoped. He said there’s space in the front of the building on the right hand side where the bus loop meets the parking lot, or in the back by the property line. He said district architect Michael Guido would need more details about what the addition would house and look like to determine the right placement.

While a community pool or indoor facility would not be in the budget, district officials have told the board that another proposition, like to construct a pool, could be added to the budget ballot in May should there be enough interest.

Fine said an indoor pool could have separate locker rooms for students and community members, stands for parents to watch their children and indoor classroom and office space, potentially for the creation of a pool maintenance program.

“It’s not just digging a hole and putting a pool in,” Fine said. “We’ve got one shot at this.”

A track was also proposed around the top of the pool, since an indoor track was also something community members asked to see.

The indoor auxiliary facility could have a practice turf field and a basketball court, and even locker room space. If placed behind the high school, it could be a fabric building. While that may not be aesthetically pleasing for the front of the school, a masonry building would be constructed if the front of the campus was preferred, which would drive the cost up.

When looking at the proposed projects, School Board Vice President Christina DeSanti asked for balance.

“It can’t just be all sports, and we have three buildings, so we need to be cognizant of the really good mix of ideas here,” she said of the wants. “And I hope each building gets something.”

District officials also took DeSanti’s suggestion from the last meeting, on October 15, and will be sending surveys to students, parents and community members to gauge interest in each of the proposed items.

The last of the four meetings on the bond proposition will be December 17 at 10 a.m. in the high school library.