The committee overseeing the proposed renovation of East Hampton High School will likely vote on a plan Thursday, April 11, that will remove from the $52.4 million proposal a $325,000 request for athletic field lights and a $900,000 proposal to move the district's central offices into the renovated school.
The committee is hoping those changes will make the plan more palatable to the Board of Finance, which voted down the project about two weeks ago, citing concerns about its costs, including the lights and the plan to move the Board of Education offices out of the downtown.
The building committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the high school media center. The meeting follows a tri-board meeting held Tuesday to hash out issues related to the finance board's rejection of the renovation plan. Residents who attended the meeting urged the finance board to approve the project so that residents could vote on it.
The plan that will come before the high school building committee on Thursday is Option 5, which retains all of the existing major renovation components, including new technology upgrades and a science wing.
Committee members have said removing the athletic field lights and offices for the Board of Education's administrative staff would barely change the bottom line cost to residents but could save money in the long run.
The building committee originally had hoped to get the high school renovation project approved in time for a late April referendum. However, if the building committee approves a Concept 5 the plan would have to go back to the Board of Education for a vote before it goes to the finance board.
Under that new timetable the referendum could not be held until at least late May.
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