The Storyline

Schools

The school budget, the referendums, and what the Board of Education decides.

The story so far

East Hampton needed four referendums to pass a school budget this year. Voters approved $39,550,937 on Aug. 26, the same figure that failed Aug. 5.

To reach that number, the Board of Education cut Smart Start pre-K and middle school sports. A $73,500 state grant brought pre-K back, and community donations are paying for the sports this school year.

The board now has an open seat after Kenneth Barber resigned.

SchoolsWho

An open seat on the Board of Education

Kenneth Barber has resigned

Board of Education member Kenneth Barber has resigned, and the board is seeking a new member, Board of Finance member Daniel Finn reported Sept. 21. The district's roster lists one of its nine seats as "To Be Determined."

The eight members listed are Chair Nancy Kohler, Vice Chair August "Augie" Arndt, Secretary Edie DeSimone, Corrine Clark-Barney, Matt Engelhardt, Nathan Jaycox, Sarah LeBlanc and Sarah King.

The board decides how the $39.55 million is spent, line by line.

Next ❦ Board of Education, Monday, Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Council Chambers.

Board of Finance minutes, Sept. 21, 2026. Read the minutes

SchoolsThe Date

Four school forums, one at each school

Tuesday evenings from Oct. 20 to Dec. 15

Superintendent Dr. Timothy Van Tasel announced a series of community forums, one at each school, all on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 p.m.: Oct. 20 at East Hampton High School, Oct. 27 at the middle school, Nov. 17 at Memorial School and Dec. 15 at Center School.

Administrators will cover academic priorities, school programs, staffing and enrollment, and building needs, with time set aside for questions.

Each forum sets aside time for residents' questions.

Next ❦ First forum: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6:30 p.m., East Hampton High School.

Board of Education minutes, Sept. 14, 2026. Read the minutes

SchoolsWhat happened

Fourth try: voters approve the $39.55 million school budget

The same figure that failed Aug. 5 passed Aug. 26

Voters approved the Board of Education's 2026-27 budget, $39,550,937, at the Aug. 26 referendum, the fourth vote on the school budget this year. The same figure failed Aug. 5 in what the Board of Finance chairman called an incredibly close vote, and the board sent it back unchanged.

On Sept. 14 the Board of Education cut its own February spending plan, $40,627,675.66, by $1,076,738.66 so its line items add up to what voters approved.

Since Sept. 1 the schools had been running on a one-month stopgap of $3,191,165.56. Now they have a full-year budget.

Board of Education minutes, Sept. 14, 2026. Read the minutes

SchoolsThe Date

Graduation is Friday, June 11, 2027

Set by the Board of Education on Sept. 14

The Board of Education voted unanimously on Sept. 14 to hold graduation for the Class of 2027 on Friday, June 11, 2027.

Members said the board can move the date if snow days push back the last day of school, though Project Graduation reservations would be hard to move late in the year.

Families can plan around it; the board can move it if snow days pile up.

Board of Education minutes, Sept. 14, 2026. Read the minutes

SchoolsPlain English

What every middle school sport costs

The list was read into the record Aug. 10

Cross-country, $11,200. Boys basketball, $11,445. Girls basketball, $11,125. Girls soccer, $9,486. Boys soccer, $8,952. Baseball, $8,398. Softball, $7,544. Cheerleading, $3,435. Boys and girls volleyball, $2,414 each.

That is $76,413 in all. The sports were cut to reach the budget figure. The Board of Finance's Aug. 17 minutes say community donations now fund them for this school year.

This is what "cut middle school sports" meant in dollars, and what donors are now covering.

Board of Finance, Aug. 10, 2026. Watch

By the Numbers

$68,036

The school district's Title I grant, down from $127,105

The school district's Title I grant fell to $68,036 this year from $127,105 last year, the superintendent told the Board of Education on Sept. 14. Title I is federal money for schools that serve students from low-income families.

The district had budgeted about $80,000 and carried over the share of last year's money it was allowed to keep, so its Title I account remains slightly positive, according to the minutes. A second federal grant, Title II, was first reported as zero; after the district called the state it came in at $24,389.

The grant is about half of last year's; this year, carryover money keeps the account in the black.

Board of Education minutes, Sept. 14, 2026. Read the minutes

$73,500

The state grant that brought Smart Start back

Smart Start pre-K had been cut to reach the school budget's bottom line. Then the state Office of Early Childhood awarded the district another $73,500. There was no application; the district told the Board of Finance on Aug. 10 that families had lobbied the state directly.

The district said the new money, together with the program's existing early childhood grant of about $97,000 and a stabilization grant, runs "pretty close to the number that we needed."

Pre-K is back for this school year without changing the budget figure voters approved.

Board of Finance, Aug. 10, 2026. Watch