Schools

East Hampton Finance Board Approves High School Renovation Plan

After initially rejecting the project last month, the finance board agreed to a revised proposal on Monday. The Town Council will vote on it tonight.

The East Hampton Board of Finance has approved a $52 million plan to essentially rebulid East Hampton High School, after initially rejecting the proposal last month. 

The board voted 6-1 Monday night to accept the proposal after members of the school building committee grudgingly agreed to remove from the proposal a plan to move the Board of Education offices into the renovated high school and install athletic field lights at the site. 
The Town Council meets tonight at 6:30 in the high school library and is scheduled to vote on the project. 

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The lone dissenter on the finance board was Patience Anderson, who has repeatedly voiced concerns about the high school project's overall costs. While the "build as new" plan is estimated at $51.6 million now, the state will reimburse East Hampton for $28 million of those costs. 

Anderson has said there are many residents in town who simply can't afford the tax increase that would be needed to pay for the project. 

The building committee now must get the Town Council's approval before it can set a referendum date on the project. The panel needs to get voter approval of the project before it can apply for the state grant. The deadline for that application is June 30. 



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