Sag Harbor Teachers Association Throws Its Support Behind Marsden Purchase

The question of whether the Sag Harbor School District should purchase vacant land on nearby Marsden Street to develop into an athletic field, and whether Southampton Town should approve the use of $6 million in Community Preservation Fund money to assist in that purchase, has become an inflamed topic of debate for months in Sag Harbor, dominating conversation at School Board meetings and in the community.

Strong opinions and often intense emotions have been expressed by a variety of stakeholders — with the belief by many that the district would seek to install an artificial turf field being raised as a main concern for several residents.

But the teachers in the district had refrained from collectively taking a side or discussing the matter publicly.

Until now.

On Monday, the Teachers Association of Sag Harbor sent out a press release stating its support not only for the purchase of the land and the development of the athletic field but its belief that assisting in the purchase would be an appropriate action for the Community Preservation Fund.

The association does not bring up the topic of artificial turf in its letter or take a side on that particular issue, but rather focuses on the adverse impact that the lack of nearby and on-site athletic fields has had on students’ education.

The release states that the association decided to weigh in on the matter because it believes that the Town Board rejecting the use of CPF funds “could have an adverse impact on the education of students in the Sag Harbor community.”

Anthony Chase Mallia, the association’s president, was quoted in the release outlining the reasons why the teachers support the purchase and use of CPF money.

“Stakeholders have raised some valid environmental concerns that need to be addressed, but we feel that a compromise exists that can secure this very important resource for the kids,” he said. “Many are well aware of the lack of athletic fields at Pierson, but the impact this is having on the education of our students is a serious concern for our teachers,”

“At present, Pierson students have access to a single athletic field,” the release states. “As a result, physical education classes are sometimes relegated to a corner of that field during lunch recess or when sharing the field with another physical education class. With only one field for athletic practices, many students currently have to walk over a mile to Mashashimuet Park.

“This is far from ideal and potentially dangerous. The span of time that it takes the average student to walk to the park after school forces many students to abandon the help offered to them by their teachers during and immediately following their school day,” he continued. “Instead, many students who are in need of academic help forgo it in order to change into their uniforms and hurriedly make it to the park on time. And because teachers are often coaches, the need to rush to the park can have an impact that extends beyond our student athletes.”

The release continues: “With an additional field, Pierson may also be able to host a sport or sports that, at the present time, student athletes could only participate in by getting on a bus. This is significant because the bus that takes our student athletes to neighboring schools for shared sports must depart at a time that requires them to cut school short and leave Academic Support early. In some instances, students may even have to leave at the beginning of ninth period, the final instructional period prior to Academic Support, as the games for these shared sports teams are more likely to be held farther west.”

“The sports schedule is having an adverse academic impact on our student athletes, which is why this Marsden Lot vote by the Southampton Town Council is so important,” Mallia says, in wrapping up the press release. “It is an investment that may not impact as many residents all at once, as other uses of CPF funds might, but it will impact some of the community’s most important residents for decades to come.”