Bridgehampton Union Free School District

Last updated
Bridgehampton Union Free School District
Address
2685 Montauk Highway
Bridgehampton
, Suffolk County , New York
United States
District information
Type Public
GradesPK-12
Established1907 [1]
PresidentRonald White [2]
Vice-presidentJennifer Vinski [2]
SuperintendentMary Kelly [3]
Business administratorMichael Cipriani [3]
Governing agency New York State Education Department
Schools1
Budget$20,658,612 (2021-22) [4]
NCES District ID 3605370 [5]
District ID580909020000 [6]
Students and staff
Students223 (2019-20) [6]
Teachers46.95 FTE (2019-20) [5]
Staff37.44 FTE (2019-20) [5]
Student–teacher ratio4.75 (2019-20) [5]
Other information
Website bridgehampton.k12.ny.us
Bridgehampton School
Information
Type Public
Established1720 (1720) [7]
NCES School ID 360537000271 [8]
PrincipalMichael Cox [3]
Color(s)Yellow and Black   
MascotKiller Bees
Bonackers (Football) [9]
Communities served Bridgehampton, Noyack (part), Sag Harbor (part), Sagaponack (part) [10]

Bridgehampton Union Free School District is a public school district located in the Town of Southampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is roughly co-extensive with the hamlet of Bridgehampton, but also serves parts of Noyack, unincorporated Sag Harbor, and unincorporated Sagaponack. [10]

Contents

The district operates one school, the Bridgehampton School serving grades Pre-K through 12. [6] The total enrollment for the 2019–2020 school year was 223 students. [5] Its high school, which also serves students from the Sagaponack Common School District, is one of the 30 smallest in the state of New York. [11] Proposals to close the high school and send students to larger nearby high schools have failed. [12] [13] [14] [15]

The district's superintendent, Mary Kelly, began her tenure in July 2021. [16]

Bridgehampton is bordered by the Southampton school district to the west, the Sag Harbor district to the north, and the Sagaponack district to the west. [10]

In 2010, Bridgehampton was the richest school district in New York State. [17]

History

Early years

Bridgehampton's first public school was the Two Chimney Schoolhouse, opened in 1720. [1] [7] [18] The building was located at Bull's Head – later known as Triangle Common – the intersection of what is now Montauk Highway and the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the current school building). [7] In 1820, Southampton Town school commissioners Abraham Rose, Rufus Foster, and William Herrick laid out school districts for the town; Bridgehampton became District #9, and moved two a new building on the same site. This building was used until c. 1842. [7] The next schoolhouse was sold in an August 1907 action to Herbert Hedges, who moved the building to Wainscott, where it now stands as a chapel and community center. [19]

In 1907, the newly-formed Bridgehampton Union School District voted to build a new school on a new site off Church Lane. [1] The new two-story building opened as a middle school on January 6, 1908, adding a high school program two years later. [1] In 1911, the district became the Bridgehampton Union Free School District and graduated its first student. [1] This school was later known as the "School Street School" due to its location at the corner of Church Lane and School Street, the current site of the Bridgehampton Fire Department. [18]

Outgrowing this facility, construction broke ground on the current Montauk Highway building, the area's fifth school building, in September 1930. [1] The building was designed by the architectural firm Tooker and Marsh and opened in 1931. [18]

Recent history

For a period that lasted through most of the 1990s, the school had a primarily African-American enrollment, [20] but a 2004 New York Times article detailed large demographic changes in the community and the school. [21]

Due to its small size, some have proposed that the high school portion of the school should be closed and students sent to larger nearby high schools in adjacent districts. [12] A ballot to close the high school during the 1987-88 school year narrowly succeeded, but was later overturned. [13] A 2009 initiative was also defeated. [14]

In 2003, the district signed a contract with the nearby private Ross School to provide breakfast and lunch at a cost of $3.12 per student. The district does not have its own kitchen. It was the first public school-private school partnership for school lunch in New York State. [22]

A $29.4 million extensive renovation and expansion of the school was approved by voters in December 2016. The expansion was to add over 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) to the existing 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) building and was originally expected to be completed by December 2020. [23] The project included a new gym and athletic facilities, new cafeteria, new technology room, renovated library, and renovated classrooms. [24] Construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some renovated classrooms were available for use in the second half of the 2020–2021 school year. The project was fully completed in time for the 2021–2022 school year. [25]

Mary Kelly, the current superintendent was appointed in May 2021. She was nominated to succeed Robert Hauser, who had previously been superintendent since February 2018, and assistant superintendent prior to that. [26] Kelly's appointment was challenged by the NAACP Eastern Long Island branch, citing an incident in her prior superintendent role at the Amityville School District. [27]

In April 2023, the district announced that Assistant Principal Michael Cox would become principal effective July 1, 2023. This followed the announcement that current principal Michael Miller, would be moving to the Superintendent/Principal role at East Quogue Union Free School District. [28]

Athletics

The sports teams are known as the "Killer Bees," and the basketball team has won nine small-school (Class D) state championships as of 2016, including in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2015. [29] [30] [31]

Bridgehampton students play football at East Hampton High School in a consortium that also includes Pierson Middle-High School in Sag Harbor, New York. [9] The school also sends athletes from some other sports to play at Pierson. [32] In 2018 and 2019, the Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor consortium instead played at Southampton High School due to low enrollment in East Hampton. [33]

During the 1990s basketball victory run, the mascot for the team changed from the "Bridgies." [34] [35] The away jerseys for the team still has the name "Bridgies" on it although the home jerseys have the "Bees" on them.

The school's original basketball court, which opened in 1931, was dubbed the Bee Hive or Matchbox. It was smaller than regulation size, 13 feet (4.0 m) shorter sideline to sideline and 19 feet (5.8 m) shorter from baseline to baseline. The last game played in The Hive was February 2, 2020, vs. Shelter Island. A new regulation-size gym opened for the 2020–2021 school year as part of a $29 million expansion to the school. [36]

Carl Yastrzemski broke the local high basketball scoring record before graduating in 1957 (628). [37] He attended University of Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship after graduating the school. [38] He also hit .512 while playing high school baseball and led the team to two straight Suffolk County championships. [39] [40]

Shaquille O'Neal produced a documentary history of the basketball team in connection with the 2015-2016 season titled Killer Bees which was the project of Orson and Ben Cummings. [36] Included in the movie was Joe Zucker, an artist who is a volunteer assistant coach for the team. [34] [41]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffolk County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its north by Long Island Sound, and to its south by the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgehampton, New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sag Harbor, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiners Bay. The population was 2,772 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagaponack, New York</span> Village in New York, United States

Sagaponack is a village in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on the East End of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population of the village was 770 at the 2020 census. Sagaponack is the second wealthiest zip code in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wainscott, New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Wainscott is a hamlet in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 650. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau defined a census-designated place (CDP) for the 2000 census that roughly corresponds to the same area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hamptons</span> Seaside group of towns, villages and hamlets

The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of the historical summer colonies of the northeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stretch of shoreline prominently known as the Hamptons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Hampton, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States census, it had a total population of 28,385.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peconic County, New York</span> Hypothetical new county on Long Island, New York

Peconic County is a proposed new county on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York that would secede the five easternmost towns of Suffolk County: East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, plus the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Fork (Long Island)</span>

The South Fork of Suffolk County, New York is a peninsula in the southeastern section of the county on the South Shore of Long Island. The South Fork includes most of the Hamptons. The shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the North Fork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York's 1st congressional district</span> U.S. House district for New York

New York's 1st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including the northern portion of Brookhaven, as well as the entirety of the towns of Huntington, Smithtown, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island. The district encompasses extremely wealthy enclaves such as the Hamptons, middle class suburban towns such as Selden, Centereach, and Lake Grove, working-class towns such as Riverhead and rural farming communities such as Mattituck and Jamesport on the North Fork. The district currently is represented by Republican Nick LaLota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 114</span> State highway in Suffolk County, New York, US

New York State Route 114 (NY 114) is a state highway, including two ferry crossings, on the far eastern sections of Long Island in New York in the United States. It serves as a connector between the two "forks" of Long Island, crossing Shelter Island in the process. This is the only connection between the North and South forks east of Riverhead. NY 114 is the easternmost signed north–south state route in all of New York. Additionally, the route is the last in a series of sequential state routes on Long Island. The series begins with NY 101 in western Nassau County and progresses eastward to NY 114.

Southampton Union Free School District is a public school district located in the Town of Southampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States.

Sag Harbor Union Free School District is a public school district located primarily in the Town of Southampton, with a small portion in the Town of East Hampton, on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It services the villages of Sag Harbor and North Haven, the majority of the hamlet of Noyack, as well as portions of the unincorporated communities of Sag Harbor and Sagaponack.

East Hampton Union Free School District is a public school district located in the Town of East Hampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It includes the village of East Hampton, the unincorporated area just north of the village, and the hamlet of Northwest Harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Hampton High School</span> Public high school in East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, United States

East Hampton High School is a high school in East Hampton, Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the east end of Long Island, the school is the easternmost high school in New York State. It is part of the East Hampton Union Free School District, but also educates students in the neighboring communities of Wainscott, Springs, Amagansett, and Montauk as a result of tuition contracts with the respective local school districts.

Pierson Middle-High School is a middle and high school located in Sag Harbor, Suffolk County, New York. Serving students in grades 6 through 12, it is the sole secondary school in the Sag Harbor Union Free School District.

Sagaponack Common School District is a public school district located in Sagaponack on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is roughly co-extensive with the village of Sagaponack, which is part of the town of Southampton.

Amagansett Union Free School District is a public school district located in Amagansett on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It educates students residing in the hamlets of Amagansett and Napeague, both part of the town of East Hampton.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Menu, Kathryn G. (June 16, 2011). "100 Years: Bridgehampton School Marks a Century of Students". Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "The Members of the Board of Education". Bridgehampton Union Free School District. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Administration". Bridgehampton Union Free School District. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Bridgehampton School District Budget Hearing" (PDF). Bridgehampton Union Free School District. June 8, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Bridgehampton Union Free School District". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Bridgehampton". New York State Education Department . Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Triangular Common, 1670-1800". Town of Southampton. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Search for Public Schools - Bridgehampton School (360537000271)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Graves, Jack (January 23, 2020). "East Hampton's Football Team Is to Stay Put This Fall". The East Hampton Star . Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "Public Information Center". Town of Southampton . Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ "NYSED:IRS:Public School Enrollment".
  12. 1 2 "Don't Close the School (Editorial)". Dan's Papers. May 15, 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. 1 2 "Closing School May Cost Taxpayers More". Dan's Papers. May 2, 2008. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008.
  14. 1 2 "School To Stay Open!". Dan's Papers. May 21, 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Sagaponack Common School District. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ Sampson, Christine (May 26, 2021). "Bridgehampton Names New School Superintendent". The East Hampton Star . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  17. ↑ Confessore, Nicholas (January 22, 2010). "Depth of School Cuts Depends on Who Gets Them". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 Sandford, Ann (January 2009). "Bridgehampton Hamlet Heritage Area Report". Town of Southampton. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  19. ↑ "History of the Wainscott Chapel". The Wainscott Sewing Society. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  20. ↑ "A Reprieve For Vanishing Long Island Farms?". The New York Times . June 19, 1977.("The Bridgehampton school system has already gone through its own East End version of 'white flight', and 85 percent of the school children are now black, although the total population figures are almost completely reversed.")
  21. ↑ Algar, Selim (Oct 10, 2004). "Rah-Rah Market Claims a Neighborhood". The New York Times . Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  22. ↑ Toy, Vivian S. (October 19, 2003). "From 'Yuck' to 'Mmmmmm'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  23. ↑ Sampson, Christine (April 30, 2020). "Bridgehampton School Construction Resumes". The East Hampton Star . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  24. ↑ Vespe, Elizabeth (September 4, 2019). "Bridgehampton School Expansion Project On Track, Builder Tells School Board". Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  25. ↑ Sampson, Christine (September 16, 2021). "In Bridgehampton, a Fresh Start to the Year". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  26. ↑ Sampson, Christine (January 25, 2018). "Bridgehampton School Board Appoints Four New Administrators". The Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  27. ↑ Kotz, Stephen J. (June 30, 2021). "NAACP Representatives Challenge Appointment Of Bridgehampton's New Superintendent". Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Education Briefs 04.13.23". The East Hampton Star . April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  29. ↑ Murphy, Rick (Jan 5, 1997). "Bridgehampton's Killer Bees Gear Up to Defend the State Title". The New York Times . Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  30. ↑ Murphy, Rick (Mar 21, 1999). "Aiming for the Next Level, He Shoots, She Scores". The New York Times . Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  31. ↑ NYSPHSAA Champions History Archived October 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , section4hoops.com
  32. ↑ "Athletics/Physical Education Information". Bridgehampton Union Free School District. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  33. ↑ Budd, Drew (September 22, 2021). "With No Varsity Or JV Football Again This Season, Situation In Southampton Has Reached A Tipping Point". Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  34. 1 2 "17 Jan 1988, 108 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  35. ↑ "A Fond Farewell in the Bee Hive | the East Hampton Star".
  36. 1 2 Budd, Drew (January 28, 2020). "A Final Goodbye to the Beehive in Bridgehampton". Sag Harbor Express.
  37. ↑ "Yastrzemski, Carl". 7 February 2018.
  38. ↑ "Carl Yastrzemski".
  39. ↑ Cady, Steve (26 September 1983). "Yastrzemski Seeks the Perfect Swing in His Final Innings". The New York Times.
  40. ↑ "Carl Yastrzemski Biography | Carl Yastrzemski".
  41. ↑ Killer Bees - Trailer. YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
  42. ↑ Stavropoulos, William S. (June 6, 2004). "OFFICE SPACE: THE BOSS; Leaving the Comfort Zone". The New York Times . Retrieved January 20, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.