SAG HARBOR, NY — As voters headed to vote on the Sag Harbor Union Free School District's proposed $48,063,027 budget — representing a proposed 4.50 percent increase — all eyes turned to a controversial proposal that is dividing a community . And after months of public debate, the proposal to buy the Marsden property was voted down by a narrow margin of 1,156 to 1,081.
The school budget itself passed by a wide margin of 1,619 to 570.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Nichols sent a letter to parents and the community regarding Proposal #2, which would include the purchase of property at 15 Marsden St. at a cost of $9.425 million and authorizes the district to use $3.425 million in capital reserves to purchase, with the remaining $6 million financed by bond.
If approved, the buyout would cost families less than $40 a year, the district said.
Community members have come out in force for and against the proposal, with some saying the plan is an investment in students' futures and others voicing strong opposition and raising issues such as land quality and potential environmental issues — and concerns for a possible parking lot.
In his letter, Nichols said there has been “misinformation spread” and said the parcel is adjacent to Pierson Middle School and High School and provides an opportunity to expand and accommodate facility needs.
If the lots are approved, Nichols said the district will seek community input, with facility needs shared through surveys and community forums. These needs include a wet lab to expand science offerings. renovating or replacing the gymnasium; and adding athletic fields.
Some parents said on social media that their students had no problem walking across the fields in Sag Harbor, while others said the Marsden property would mean their children wouldn't have to cross busy roads, adding that more fields could only benefit today's students who all too often spend time on their phones and laptops rather than outdoors.
Any additional funds needed to develop the Marsden property would require a separate vote, Nichols said.
While Southampton Town originally planned to work with the district to use Community Conservation Funds to purchase the property, that plan never materialized, and now the district is looking at purchasing the parcel on its own, Nichols said.
He also addressed “complaints about wetlands, toxins and endangered species” that he said were “misleading”. Nichols said the parcel does not sit on wetlands and is zoned residential. Environmental studies have been done and will be done moving forward, he said, with student safety as the number one priority.
With the public rejecting the proposal, the property could be developed as housing, Nichols said. In addition, Nichols said there are no plans for a 72-car parking lot plan, as some have argued.
A second proposal to create a safety and technology reserve passed, 1,559 to 622.
Three school board candidates ran unopposed: Sandi Kruel received 1,588 votes, Daniel Marsili, 1,564 and Alex Kriegsman, 1,523.
