By Claire Walla
For the past year, Sag Harbor School District has not carried a supplemental form of insurance known as student accident insurance. For some members of the Sag Harbor School Board, the program was not worth its cost to the district — some parents didn’t see high returns on their claims.
“It was more of [...]

By Claire Walla
Pulling no surprises, the Sag Harbor Board of Education voted on Monday, March 26 to approve the district’s proposed $34 million budget for the 2012-2013 school year.
“I want to thank the district for all its hard work,” said board member Chris Tice. Because this is the first year the district has had to [...]

By Claire Walla
Last week, the Special Education Parent Teacher Organization (SEPTO) was blatantly trying to make me mad.
And it worked.
I was jealous of the “smarty pants,” frustrated by my own inabilities and I harbored animosity for my instructors who, arguably, were just trying to do their jobs. Learning was not fun. I wanted no part [...]

By Claire Walla

Your perception of the Pierson Middle/High School mascot is probably correlated to the amount of time you’ve spent with the school.
“The whale has always been the mascot,” said school board member Teresa Samot, who grew up in Sag Harbor.
She added, however, that the school has seen a lot of variations over the years, [...]

Teachers and staff at the Bridgehampton School have agreed to freeze salaries for the 2012-2013 school year. This will save the district close $100,000 and make it possible for the school to meet a state mandated property tax cap.
During a Bridgehampton School Board of Education meeting last Wednesday night, Superintendent Dr. Lois Favre announced that [...]

Battling with the creation of a 2012-2013 budget in the face of a state-mandated property tax cap, the Bridgehampton School Board and administration held a second community meeting this week. The goal? To brainstorm ideas on how to cut costs next year while maintaining a quality education in Bridgehampton.
On Monday night, the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), once an organization [...]

Two weeks ago, members of the Bridgehampton School community gathered in the famed Beehive and put their heads together to try and chart a course for Bridgehampton’s next school year budget which, for the first time, is facing a stringent spending restrictions imposed by the New York State.
Walking around the room, as each group sat [...]

When the two-percent property tax levy cap was adopted last year it was done alongside a promise that New York State would scale back on the unfunded mandates it requires school districts and local governments to meet.
So far, for school administrators like Bridgehampton Superintendent Dr. Lois Favre, the promise of mandate relief has been just [...]

By Claire Walla
The P.S. I Love You campaign was started last year by a high school student in West Islip, Brooke DiPalma, whose father committed suicide in 2010. His last words to his daughter were: I love you.
According to Pierson eighth grader and student council member Sheila Mackey, DiPalma’s school banded together after the event [...]

By Claire Walla

Ever since the need for student accident insurance was brought into question last year, it has been a hotly debated item among Sag Harbor School Board members.
Last year, the board voted to eliminate the service (which is not required by law). However, at the urging of some Pierson parents, the school has been [...]