Springs Union Free School District
Address
48 School Street
East Hampton
, Suffolk County, New York
United States
District information
TypePublic
GradesPK-8[1]
Established1784 (1784) (first school)[2]
1813 (1813) (district)[3]
PresidentBarbara Dayton[4]
Vice-presidentTimothy Frazier[4]
SuperintendentDebra Winter[5]
Business administratorMichael Henery[5]
Governing agencyNew York State Education Department
Schools1
Budget$30,800,134 (2021–22)[6]
NCES District ID3627900[1]
District ID580304020000[7]
Students and staff
Students723 (2019–20)[1]
Teachers70 FTE (2019–20)[1]
Staff42 FTE (2019–20)[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.337 (2019–20)[1]
Other information
Websitespringsschool.org

Springs Union Free School District is a public school district located in East Hampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It educates students in the hamlet of Springs and the privately-owned Gardiners Island.[8][9]

The district operates one school, the Springs School, serving grades PK through 8.[7] The total enrollment for the 2019–2020 school year was 723 students.[1] Students then complete their education at the East Hampton High School as part of a tuition agreement with the East Hampton Union Free School District.[10]

Christine Cleary is the school's principal and Debra Winter is the district's superintendent.[5] Cleary has been principal since August 2020.[11]

Springs is bordered by the East Hampton school district to the west and the Amagansett district to the south.[8]

History

Early years

In February 1784, East Hampton Town Trustees authorized the building of a schoolhouse in the "North Side" of the town.[2] It thought to have been located on the land of Elisha Miller, and was auctioned off to them in 1807.[3]

The second schoolhouse, which also served as place of worship, opened in 1807 at the authorization of a 32-man committee.[3] It was either constructed at or moved to the Village Green at the corner of Fireplace Road and Old Stone Highway.[2] The building was sold at an auction for $75 to Daniel King, who moved it to his home in Kingstown.[3]

The school district was formally founded in 1813 as School District No. 4 of the town of East Hampton.[3] The district also operated a school on Gardiners Island in 1884.[3]

Ashawagh Hall in 2020

The third schoolhouse, which was the first public school in the district, was built on the site of its predecessor in 1847 at a cost of $418.[2][3] It was known as the "Little Red Schoolhouse."[2] In 1884, the school was expanded or rebuilt on the current site a cost of about $1,600.[3] It was sold to the Springs Historical Society in 1909 for $1 and is now part of Ashawagh Hall.[12][3] "Ashawagh" is the Montaukett word for "meeting place."[3]

The fifth schoolhouse was the first school on the current School Street site. It was a wooden two-story building with four classrooms and was described as "one of the prettiest school buildings of its size in the county."[2][3] The building burned to the ground in 1929, possibly due to an overheated chimney.[9][3]

The current building is the sixth schoolhouse of the district.[3] It opened in 1931 and was expanded in 1960 to accommodate junior high students.[9] Previously, students were educated at East Hampton Middle School for grades 6 and up.[9] Later additions to the building were completed in 1966 and 1974.[3]

Recent history

In March 2018, voters approved a $23-million expansion project.[13][14] Phase 1 installed a nitrogen-reducing septic system and Phase 2 added seven classrooms, a regulation-size gymnasium and athletic fields, as well as upgraded existing facilities in the school building.[15] The project allowed for kindergarten and first grade classrooms, formerly in separate buildings on the campus, to consolidate under one roof.[13] Prior to construction, the school was educating 743 students in a facility built for 400 students.[13] Construction began in July 2019 and wrapped up in September 2021.[14][16] Various errors in the construction project, which the district blamed on the architectural firm, cost at least $30,000 on top of the original project's budget.[17]

Eric Casale, the school's longtime principal of 15 years, was granted a leave of absence in August 2020.[18] Assistant Principal Christine Cleary became acting principal in his absence.[11] Casale resigned from his post in December of that year and received a $300,000 settlement from the district for unknown reasons.[18] In February 2021, Cleary's promotion was made permanent.[11]

The district's pre-kindergarten program moved to the Springs Youth Association building, located just behind the school facilities, for the 2020–2021 school year.[19] Previously, pre-K was contracted to the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center in East Hampton.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Springs Union Free School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Springs School History Packet". The Long Island Collection, East Hampton Library. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Springs School History". The Long Island Collection, East Hampton Library. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "The Members of the Board of Education". Springs Union Free School District. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "Administration". Springs Union Free School District. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Superintendent's Proposed Budget 2021–2022" (PDF). Springs Union Free School District. April 26, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Springs UFSD". New York State Education Department. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  8. 1 2 "School Districts". Town of East Hampton. April 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 O'Connor, Sue Ellen (May 29, 2013). "Guestwords: Springs School Memories". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ Berger, Joseph (January 2, 2009). "Making Sense of School Consolidation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 Sampson, Christine (February 10, 2021). "New Springs School Principal Appointed". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  12. ↑ "About". Ashawagh Hall. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 Chinese, Vera (March 7, 2018). "Springs district voters OK $23M project to expand, upgrade school". Newsday. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Keegan, Desirée (August 16, 2021). "Springs School Expansion Project To Be Completed By Start Of School". The Southampton Press. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Groundbreaking for Springs School Additions & Alterations". BBS. July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ Sampson, Christine (September 23, 2021). "Springs School Starts the Year Shiny and New". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  17. ↑ Sampson, Christine (October 7, 2021). "Costs Mount in Springs School Makeover". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Sampson, Christine (February 3, 2021). "Springs Principal Awarded $300,000 Separation Deal". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Sampson, Christine (April 29, 2021). "Springs Pre-K to Return to Campus". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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