Bridgehampton Budget Is Under Cap, Preserving Programming and Adding More Opportunities for Students; Three Are Running for Two Board Seats

On Tuesday, May 21, Bridgehampton School District voters will be asked to vote on a 2024-25 budget of $22,554,442 that will preserve all programming and is under the tax levy cap.

The proposed budget has a budget-to-budget increase of $812,563 or 3.74 percent, with a tax levy increase of $612,563 or 3.34 percent.

There are no additional propositions on the budget this year.

In addition to maintaining all current programming, the proposed budget allows for an expansion of education opportunities for students as well, including new AP course offerings in French, Spanish and Psychology, as well as the implementation of the new AP Capstone Program, new pre-AP courses in social studies and English, and a new dual enrollment course in criminal justice through St. John’s University. The district will also partner with the New York Institute of Technology for a new career and technical education pathway in multimedia design, enriching the school’s career and technical education offerings alongside the recently enhanced CTE pathway in agribusiness.

At the budget vote on May 21, residents will also be asked to elect three of four people running for seats on the School Board, which includes incumbents Angela Chmielewski and Jo Ann Comfort, and newcomers Nicole DeCastri Zabala and Merritt Thomas.

Angela Chmielewski

Chmielewski was first elected to the board in 2021 and is seeking another three-year term. She is the parent of two children in the district; Chase, a seventh-grader, and Claire, a third-grader. During her time on the board, Chmielewski has served on several committees, including the safety, policy, facilities and grounds and strategic planning committee, and curriculum committee. Chmielewski has also been a member of the Bridgehampton School Parent Teacher Organization for many years, and also serves on the board of the Children’s Museum of the East End.

Chmielewski was the School Board Service Award Winner at SCOPE’s 23rd annual School District Awards Dinner in March.

“Serving on the board has been very rewarding for me and a great honor,” she said. “I’m excited for the possibility to continue serving the district.”

Jo Ann Comfort

Jo Ann Comfort first ran for the Bridgehampton School Board in 2010 and served one three-year term. She was asked to run again in 2021, and after serving another term, she was eager to run again.

“I was very excited to be able to have the time now needed to dedicate to this position and all the subcommittees I sit on,” she said, which includes the audit committee, budget committee, and the health and safety facilities and grounds committees.

Comfort and her husband, Robert, raised their daughter, Uma, in Bridgehampton. Uma graduated from Bridgehampton in 2022 and will enter her junior year at Cornell University in the fall. Robert Comfort serves on the Bridgehampton Fire District board, and Jo Ann Comfort said they’re a couple that has “volunteerism in our blood.”

They live on Lumber Lane, on a farm appropriately named Comfort Farm.

Comfort spoke about what she has in mind if she’s elected to serve another term.

“Over the past three years our district has had great momentum and excitement around our offerings of new AP classes and career and technical education classes,” she said. “I feel we have formed a great board and amazing administration team. We as a team have been very aware of our fiduciary duties to our stakeholders of the hamlet of Bridgehampton without having to deny our students any opportunities.

“As for the next three years, I would do the same as I have the past three,” she continued. “I would keep the momentum moving forward and I would like to find ways to increase enrollment and inform the community more of what our school has to offer and about our great students and faculty.”

Nicole DeCastri Zabala

Nicole DeCastri Zabala was born in Southampton and grew up in Hampton Bays, but has roots in Bridgehampton, as both her mother and grandmother attended school there. She has two children in the district; Nicholas, a first-grader, and Robbie, who is in pre-K.

DeCastri Zabala does not have prior experience serving on a school board, but has served as a substitute teacher in the district in the past. She runs the office for her husband’s business, HZ Masonry Construction.

She said she’s proud that her children are attending the same school as her mother and grandmother, and spoke more about why she chose to run for a seat on the board.

“I have two young children that are attending school at Bridgehampton for the next 13 years,” she said. “As a board member, I want to contribute to maintaining the special family-like community Bridgehampton is known for. We are one of the few districts left that still has that. I hope to help implement programs and services that are developmentally appropriate for students while keeping in mind the needs of both children and our dedicated staff that care for and work with our children all year.”

Merritt Thomas

Merritt Thomas is also throwing her hat in the ring for a spot on the school board.

Thomas and her husband moved to Bridgehampton in 2019, and she said she decided to become more involved in the school because her two-year-old son will eventually be a student in Bridgehampton, and because she loves the community.

“We’ve had a lot of babysitters from Bridgehampton and we’ve spent time at athletic events, and I found the community so warm, and I wanted to give back,” she said.

Thomas, who also has a 14-year-old stepdaughter, has a career background in finance and commodities, and earned her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

She and her husband have lived all over the country and even abroad, from Philadelphia to Chicago, Houston, London and more, and said they’re happy to have settled in Bridgehampton.

“My husband comes from a small rural town in Colorado and we had friends who lived in Bridgehampton so we decided to come here,” she said. “I think it’s a really special community.”

If elected, Thomas said she simply wants to focus on creating as many opportunities for students as possible.

“I’m all about transparency and listening to the community,” she said. “I think the school is a special place already, and I want to focus on making sure that continues.”