Voters in Westhampton Beach, Long Beach approve propositions for infrastructure improvements

Voters in two Long Island school districts passed multimillion-dollar propositions Tuesday aimed at shoring up indoor and outdoor infrastructure at various school buildings.

Residents of the Westhampton Beach school district approved a pair of propositions to make safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements at a cost of $30 million.

In Long Beach, an $87.7 million capital improvement plan won the support of voters 727-131. The proposal will be funded by serial bonds.

Westhampton Beach voters approved Proposition 1 by a tally of 216-66,  while Proposition 2 passed 181-98,  according to an announcement on the district's website.

Proposition 2 will cost the average homeowner — with a property assessed at $750,000 — about $165 annually, according to the district. Proposition 1 comes without an additional cost to taxpayers, officials said.

Administrators said the projects are based on recommendations from the district’s facilities committee.

"We are thankful to our Westhampton Beach community for supporting the bond vote," Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Probst said in a statement emailed to Newsday via a spokesperson late Tuesday.

"As a district," Probst continued, "maintaining our facilities is an important part of our goal to support all students and provide a safe and comfortable learning environment. We are looking forward to completing this work over the next several years and providing our community with ongoing updates."

Proposition 1 authorizes $13 million in borrowing for projects that include replacing parking lot lighting, installing new asphalt and storm drains, and adding new concrete curbs and sidewalks. The proposition will also fund new security vestibules for processing visitors at the schools and reconstruction of the tennis courts at Westhampton Beach Senior High School, according to the district.

The second proposition, for $17 million in spending, will be used for air ventilation projects across several district buildings and a new elementary school playground. Proposition 2 also provides money for a new multisport turf field at the Hite property adjacent to Westhampton Beach Elementary, according to the district.

In Long Beach, voters' approval of the $87.7 million capital improvement plan will not result in a tax increase "as new debt service would replace expiring debt that supported the prior large-scale capital plan approved by voters in 2009," the district said before the vote.

"The vote for the districtwide capital projects plan funded by bond has passed!," said a news item on the district's website afterward. "Thank you to the Long Beach Public Schools community for voting."

The approved projects include installation of HVAC systems in all schools, playground renovations or additions at the elementary schools and improvements to the athletic fields and locker rooms at the middle and high schools. A new wrestling room at the high school and "instructional spaces" for marine science, technology, carpentry and robotics, and a new roof at the Long Beach Public Library, will also be funded by the plan, according to the district website.

"This is an exciting moment for our district," said Jennifer Gallagher, the Long Beach superintendent, in a statement late Tuesday emailed to Newsday by a spokesperson.

"The community’s support allows us to move forward with important projects that will strengthen our school facilities for generations to come," Gallagher said.