| Springs Union Free School District | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
48 School Street ,Suffolk County,New YorkUnited States | |
| District information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | PK-8[1] |
| Established | 1784 (1784) (first school)[2] 1813 (1813) (district)[3] |
| President | Barbara Dayton[4] |
| Vice-president | Timothy Frazier[4] |
| Superintendent | Debra Winter[5] |
| Business administrator | Michael Henery[5] |
| Governing agency | New York State Education Department |
| Schools | 1 |
| Budget | $30,800,134 (2021–22)[6] |
| NCES District ID | 3627900[1] |
| District ID | 580304020000[7] |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | 723 (2019–20)[1] |
| Teachers | 70FTE (2019–20)[1] |
| Staff | 42 FTE (2019–20)[1] |
| Student–teacher ratio | 10.337 (2019–20)[1] |
| Other information | |
| Website | springsschool |
Springs Union Free School District is apublicschool district located inEast Hampton onLong Island, inSuffolk County, New York, United States. It educates students in thehamlet ofSprings and the privately ownedGardiners Island.[8][9]
The district operates one school, theSprings 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 theEast Hampton High School as part of a tuition agreement with theEast 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 theAmagansett district to the south.[8]
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]
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 theMontaukett 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]
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'spre-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 inEast Hampton.[19]