Sag Harbor Board Of Education President, Vice President Switch Roles

At the annual organizational meeting on Monday night, July 11, Sag Harbor School Board President Brian DeSesa and Vice President Sandi Kruel effectively swapped roles, with Kruel sworn in as the new president, and DeSesa assuming the role of vice president.

DeSesa, who is in his fourth year on the board and has served as president the last two years, nominated Kruel to take over his spot, saying that various work and time commitments were making it difficult for him to continue serving in the capacity as president.

Both Kruel and DeSesa agreed that they work well together as a team in the leadership roles, and the rest of the board unanimously supported the move.

“Brian runs a great meeting and does an excellent job, and I have big shoes to fill,” Kruel said. “We felt the dynamic between the two of us worked so well, as did the rest of the board, so we’re keeping the same team just reversing roles.”

Kruel is by far the most experienced board member. She has served on and off — mostly on — since 1999, and previously served one year as board president in the mid-2000s.

A true shakeup could come at the end of next school year, when Kruel, DeSesa and board member Alex Kriegsman will all be up for reelection, although none of the three have definitively stated yet whether they will seek reelection.

New board members Grainne Coen and Ron Reed were sworn in at the meeting on Monday. They were elected in a landslide in May, replacing longtime board member Chris Tice, and one-term member Yorgos Tsibidiris, who both chose not to seek re-election.

The proposed capital improvement project at Mashashimuet Park has been a topic of discussion at the last few board meetings, as the board and school officials are trying to provide the public with as much information as possible ahead of the bond referendum vote tentatively scheduled for September 29.

School Business Administrator Jen Buscemi gave a short presentation where she provided an overview of the project costs as it relates to taxpayers. Construction on the project — estimated to cost $13.5 million — would begin in either the fall or winter, pending voter approval.

Buscemi shared that there would be no impact for taxpayers in the current year budget, but said that the district will need to account for estimated interest costs of $483,000 during the budget development process for the 2023/24 school year. She pointed out that the initial estimates regarding interest rates are very conservative, and that the district anticipates they will be lower than those conservative estimates.

She said that the cost to taxpayers on a monthly basis on homes assessed at one million will be roughly $4.50 per month for the 2023/24 school year.

More information on the projected costs, including detailed information on projected costs and interest rates, is available on the school district website.