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Hampton Bays Board of Ed Approves Tax Cap-Compliant, $67.5 Million Budget For Next School Year

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Hampton Bays Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Larry Luce discusses state aid numbers for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.
Hampton Bays Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Larry Luce discusses state aid numbers for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.
Hampton Bays Superintendent Lars Clemensen discusses budget realities for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.
Hampton Bays Superintendent Lars Clemensen discusses budget realities for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.

Hampton Bays Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Larry Luce discusses state aid numbers for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.

Hampton Bays Superintendent Lars Clemensen discusses budget realities for the 2025-26 school year during the April 23 board of education meeting.

The Hampton Bays Board of Education unanimously approved putting a $67,495,698 budget out to vote for the 2025-26 school year. The spending plan, adopted during an April 23 meeting, is... more

Not a Joke

Just last week, the Southampton Town Democratic Party’s vice chair, who jokingly described herself as Chairman Gordon Herr’s “henchwoman,” went after a former elected official and a former Southampton Town Planning Board member [“Beware of Grudges,” Letters, April 24]. Why? They dared to speak out about Gordon’s alleged backroom deals, especially in light of The Southampton Press’s own editorial criticizing the party boss for eliminating choice in this November’s town elections [“Under Attack,” Editorial, April 17]. This appears to be his playbook: trying to silence anyone who questions the power structure through public attacks, bullying and intimidation. I personally experienced ... by Staff Writer

You've Been Duped

I’d like to respond to Andi Klausner’s recent letter [“Beware of Grudges,” Letters, April 24], in which she assumed the role of grifter Gordon Herr’s “henchwoman.” Andi, you’re not the henchwoman — you’re the patsy. Andi’s letter got me thinking: Why would a well-respected activist, mother, wife, Housing Authority commissioner and vice chair of the Democratic Committee lie to Southampton voters about the existence of a cross-party endorsement deal admitted to and corroborated by both the Republicans and Conservatives? The answer? She wouldn’t — she isn’t a liar. Then, the epiphany came: Like the rest of the committee, Andi didn’t ... by Staff Writer

Not Welcome

Consider this a public thank you to Charles McArdle, Southampton Town highway superintendent. Mr. McArdle is one of very few elected officials to actually work for the people who elected him and not for an out-of-town, private corporation that has decimated the Pine Barrens under which flows our drinking water. Discovery Land has bamboozled and/or confused most of our elected officials, to say nothing of the unelected Planning Board. Now, despite the fact that on their original planning documents Spinney Road is clearly labeled as a town road and not a dirt path, as Jessica Insalaco of Discovery has decreed ... by Staff Writer

Insight Sought

I was shocked to read that every school board trustee election, from Eastport South Manor to Riverhead, to Westhampton Beach, to Shelter Island, to East Hampton, is uncontested this year, except one. All of these districts but one. Let that sink in. Our school districts have budgets that total well over $850 million of taxpayer money, and make up the largest portion of our property tax bills, yet there is no competition amongst the candidates that will oversee it. There will be no candidate forums. There will be no speak-offs. There will be no platform discussions. That makes me sad. ... by Staff Writer

Soil Is Calling

Another growing season is starting, as potato planting on the East End gets underway. From year to year, farmers have no way of knowing when that first day of planting will begin. Everything depends upon the weather. Finally, the time is right to have potato seed cut and ready to go into the ground. And so the ritual of spring planting begins again. We see plows turning over furrows of dark, rich soil, followed by the potato planter putting the seed pieces into the ground. The hope is that, by Mother’s Day, the sprouts from the potato eyes will break ... by Staff Writer

It's a Process

Your April 17 editorial, “Under Attack,” raises important concerns about democratic integrity — but it overlooks the very real democratic processes that exist within our political parties. Party leaders don’t govern by fiat. They are elected by committee members, who themselves are chosen by voters in each election district. In Southampton Town, every election district is represented by two committee members, each with a vote weighted to reflect the number of voters in their district. That is not backroom politics — it’s representative democracy, scaled locally. The process of selecting candidates is not always perfect, but it is deliberate and ... by Staff Writer

Ways To Help

The community response to our bike collection has been heartwarming. We have delivered more than 30 bikes to the Long Island Bike Cooperative in Manorville, and there are still more to be delivered. They will repair bikes. We will have a truck to bring bikes from Manorville to Riverhead, and a volunteer who has offered to bring them from Riverhead to Red Creek Park on May 4. Several supporters have asked how they can help. There are a few ways. We would like to offer safety vests and new or not outdated helmets along with the bikes. LIBC and Neighbors ... by Staff Writer

Stick to the Code

Our 6-year-old loves Dr. Seuss’s classic “The Lorax,” a cautionary tale featuring a dapper, environmentally minded gentleman spitting into the wind as he attempts to “speak for the trees.” He does so over the indifference of a rapacious salesman producing fast fashion “thneeds,” amorphous unflattering garments that he insists “everyone needs.” He persists as the colorful, life-giving trufula trees are uprooted en masse, leaving a barren, lifeless factory-dotted hellscape choked with smoke. We should be thankful that Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charles McArdle and the Town Board have boldly taken up the cause of open space and a road that ... by Staff Writer

Demands of Today

The news of the death of Pope Francis this week caused me to reflect on his extraordinary message of compassion. He challenged how we solve the enormity of our societal and economic problems while maintaining our compassion and humanity. We are troubled in this country by an unregulated, disorganized immigration policy. It must be changed to benefit American citizens. However, we cannot solve the problem without compassion for those who are coming here simply to seek a better life. Policy changes will require nuance and care, while ensuring enforcement. We want to encourage a free market system, which has allowed ... by Staff Writer

No Grudge

I read Andrea Klausner’s Letter to the Editor [“Beware of Grudges,” Letters, April 24], where Andrea suggests that my persistent attacks on, as I see it, political horse-trading are based on a grudge due to a lost election in 2019, where I “blamed the committee for a cross-endorsement that did not go his way.” That’s actually not true, nor is it my motivation. Honestly, I didn’t understand how fusion worked when the Southampton Democratic Committee nominated me for Town Board, but I realized quickly that I was going to lose, as a one-line candidate. In hindsight, I wasn’t a good ... by Staff Writer

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Hampton Bays Board of Ed Approves Tax Cap-Compliant, $67.5 Million Budget For Next School Year

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