UPDATED, April 21:
East Hampton's Board of Finance will hold a special meeting Monday, April 22, to vote on the revised high school renovation proposal.
The board is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m., in the East Hampton Middle School Library.
The meeting was called after the high school building committee decided to revise the $52 million proposal and eliminate from it a proposal to move the Board of Education offices into the renovated building and a plan to install lights at the high school's athletic fields.
The finance board several weeks ago rejected the plan, in part because of concerns about the lights and moving the school board offices. The finance board, however, said it would reconsider the project if those two proposals were removed.
The building committee last week approved a revised plan, which the Board of Education approved earlier this week. However, the finance board's vote is needed before the proposal can go to voters.
Original Story:
The school building committee has approved “Option 5” for the East Hampton High School renovation project, action that changes the scope of the original $52.4 million project and sends it back to the boards of education and finance for another vote.
The building committee’s unanimous vote Thursday night followed a brief discussion on the plan during which some members said the committee was being bullied by the Board of Finance and suggested sending the original plan back to the board, unchanged.
“I hate being bullied,” said building committee member Thomas Cooke. “I think we should send it back to them and have them tell us why they don’t support it.”
Other members, however, said that while they also weren’t pleased with some of the actions and comments made by finance board members during recent meetings on the high school proposal, facing off against the board could jeopardize the project.
“I don’t like being bullied either, but time is of the essence and we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture,” said committee member Roy Gauthier. “It’s amazing that in a democracy a minority is controlling what we do.”
The finance board two weeks ago rejected the high school renovation proposal, questioning its price tag as well as a plan to move the school district’s central offices into the renovated building. Those offices currently are located in a building downtown.
The finance board also has questioned a $325,000 proposal to install lights for athletic fields at the high school. Some of its members have indicated they would support the plan if those two proposals were removed.
School building committee members said the finance board does not have the authority to dictate what goes in the building project, just the bottom line cost of it.
Nonetheless, the building committee, which is racing a June 30 deadline to get the project to referendum and into the state to get a 52 percent reimbursement grant this year, has been working to revise the project and get it back to the finance board for a vote.
The so-called “Option 5” keeps the building plan essentially intact but removes the relocation of the central district offices and the installation of athletic field lights.
The plan’s new price tag is $51.7 million.
The Board of Education has already scheduled a special meeting for Monday, April 15. The finance board could meet a few days later to act on the plan.
The building committee is hoping to hold a late May referendum.
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