Will closing the Bridgehampton High School lower taxes?

Tuitioning out the Bridgehampton high school students will not lower taxes as Mr. Conti states. His
“analysis” is the same faulty and inadequate analysis used by him and Mr. Berhalter in their
proposal to close the high school last year. This is the proposal which was denied by the board of
education last year and which Mr. Conti and Mr. Berhalter then appealed to the Commissioner of
Education only to be denied again.

Mr. Conti states that the out of district tuition charged by the other districts is between $20,000
and $25,000. However, he fails to mention that these rates are for general education students
only. All the surrounding districts have much higher rates for special education students. The
figures from the NYS Education Department report entitled, “2008-09 Estimated Non Resident
Tuition Report” are as follows:

Sag Harbor Southampton East Hampton

Regular Ed. Special Ed. Regular Ed. Special Ed. Regular Ed. Special Ed.

Out of District tuition costs: $ 26,101 $50,746 $23,425 $ 94,504 $25,379 $53,305

(The figures Mr. Conti quotes for general education are in line with those in the 2007-08 report
from the NYSED. These figures are for the 2008-09 year.)
Currently there are 61 students enrolled in the Bridgehampton High School. Projections for next
year’s enrollment is also 61, made up of 57 students already enrolled in the school and 4 new
students who have completed paperwork to enroll next year. There are an additional 18 students who
have toured the High School and are interested in attending.

However this number doesn’t include any of the children who live in Bridgehampton but attend
private schools (there are at least 60 such children). According to the Conti, Ludlow, Gordon team,
many of these families would like to put their children in public school but will not consider
Bridgehampton School. If this is the case, there could be as many as 30 additional high school
students to pay for, giving a total of 90. For this example only the current high school enrollment of 60
has been used. At least 15% of these students are likely to be special education students (the current
Bridgehampton High School has a higher rate of special education students than this). This would
result in tuition costs of between $1.7 and $2 million. (See table below.)

You can see how conservative this estimate is when you consider that Wainscott School tuitions only
42 students from grades 5 through 12 to East Hampton at a cost of $1.755 million for the 2009-10
budget. This is further emphasized when you consider that tuition rates for grades 5 and 6 are lower
than those for high school. (http://www.hamptons.com/New-Schools/Main-Articles/6803/Wainscott-
School-Board-Debates-Tax-Increase.html)

In addition to tuition costs, transportation costs will also increase. A conservative estimate of these
increased costs based on existing transportation costs is $350,000 (the 2009 budget transportation
cost is $723,000). This gives us a total cost of between $2.1 and $2.4 million depending on which
school the students go to.
 COSTS OF TUITIONING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Sag Harbor Southampton East Hampton

Reg Ed. Special Ed. Reg Ed. Special Ed. Reg Ed. Special Ed.
Est. Out of District tuition costs: $26,101 $50,746 $23,425 $94,504 $25,379 $53,305
(source NYS Board of ED.)

Number of Bridgehampton High School Students: 51 9 51 9 51 9

Tuition Cost: $1,331,151 $456,714 $1,194,675 $850,536 $1,294,329 $479,745
Total Tuition Costs (Reg. Ed. plus Special Ed.): $1,787,865 $2,045,211 $1,774,074
Estimated Increased Transportation Costs $350,000 $350,000 $350,000

Total Cost: $2,137,865 $2,395,211 $2,124,074

As for savings from closing the high school: there are currently 13.5 middle and high school teachers (i.e. grades 7
– 12) at Bridgehampton School and an additional 1.5 special education teachers for this age group. The maximum
number of teachers that could be eliminated is 9 because 6 teachers will be required to teach the middle school
students, some 6th grade classes and to provide special Ed. Services. This represents a savings of $1.11 million in
teachers’ salaries and benefits. Adding further savings from reducing non-instructional staff ($90,000) and savings
from purchases of books, computers, materials and supplies etc. ($150,000), we have a grand total $1.358 million
in savings.
Savings From Closing the High School

Teachers Salaries and benefits 7-12 $1,272,791

(Source: 2009 Actual Expenditure)
Total Number of Teachers 7-12 13.5
High School Special Ed. Teacher 1.5
Total: 15
Possible Teacher Eliminations 9.0

Teacher Salary Savings $707,106

Special Ed. $146,415
Total Salary: $853,521

Teacher Benefit Savings: $264,592

Total Teacher Salary and Benefit Savings: $1,118,113

Additional Savings:
Non instructiuonal staff: $89,895
Books, Paper, Computers, Materials and Supplies $150,000

Total Savings: $1,358,008

 Comparing these savings with the increased costs, you can see that by closing the
high school the school budget (and consequently the tax levy) would actually
increase by between $766,000 and $1,000,000 (approximately 7.5% - 10%).
Option 1: Option 2: Option 3:

Sag Harbor Southampton East Hampton

Total Cost: $2,137,865 $ 2,395,211 $2,124,074
Total Savings: $1,358,008 $1,358,008 $1,358,008

NET INCREASE IN BRIDGEHAMPTON

SCHOOL BUDGET: $779,857 $1,037,203 $766,066
There are some additional savings the school could make (for example consolidating the
positions of business administrator and superintendent). These savings have not been
included because they are not dependent on closing the high school and are already
under consideration with the High School in tact. They would total approximately
$200,000 and so even if these savings were included there would still be a net increase
in the school budget after closing the High School. It is hard to eliminate any building
space as the middle school would need a science lab, music room, art room etc. and the
pre-K program needs extra room already.

Even allowing for “teaser discounts” on the tuition rates charged by the other districts it
is clear that closing the Bridgehampton High School will not result in lower taxes and is
much more likely to result in higher taxes over time.
 The reason for the increase is that because we are still maintaining an elementary and middle school, all
of the fixed overhead costs of the building, administrative staff , etc must still be covered, with or without
the high school. If the population increases or other students living in the BHS district decide to enroll in
order to be “tuitioned out”, the negative tax implications are far greater. Conversely, if we keep the high
school open and the population increases we could easily absorb an additional 40 high school students
without significantly increasing the budget.

Increase in BHS Budget with Increasing Number of High School Students

Being Tuitioned to Other Districts.

$1,795,567
Average of Sag Harbor,
Southampton and East Hampton
$1,484,059

$1,172,551

$861,042

$549,534

Based on 50 HS Based on 60 HS Based on70 HS Based on 80 HS Based on 90 HS

Students Students Students Students Students
Moreover, if you tuition your students to another high school you lose control, not only of the
quality of education your students receive, but also of a large part of your budget. To put this risk
in perspective, over the last 5 years the Bridgehampton School budget has only increased by 2%
whereas East Hampton’s has increased by 33%; Sag Harbor 16.5% and Southampton 19% over the
same time period.

Increase in local school budgets over last 5 years

135

130

125
East Hampton: 32%
120
Sag Harbor: 16.5%
115
Southampton: 19%
110 Bridgehampton: 2%

105

100
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The parents and children actually enrolled in Bridgehampton School are highly satisfied with the school. The school is
continuing to improve. It offers a safe, individualized learning experience where children do not fall between the
cracks.

% Graduates Receiving Regents Dipolma 2008

Regents All Graduates General Ed only (excluding Special Ed.)
100
92 92
89 87 89
86 84 84 85
82
79

Bridgehampton Southampton East Hampton Hampton Bays Riverhead Sag Harbor