Amagansett

BUDGET

SPENDING $10,913,234, a 1.5 percent increase from the current $10,752,240. 

TAX LEVY 3 percent increase, from $9,575,829 to $9,863,103. This is within the district’s 3.13 percent tax-cap limit, so a simple majority vote is required for approval. 

TEACHER PAY / PROGRAMS Includes a 1 percent salary raise and an average step increase of 4.47 percent. 

WHEN | WHERE

2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Amagansett School. www.aufsd.org 

CANDIDATES

Five candidates for three seats: Incumbents Anna Bernasek, Hank Muchnic and Kristen Peterson face challengers Mary Eames and Matthew Feyh; The two highest vote-getters receive three-year terms, while the third-highest vote-getter receives a one-year term created by the resignation last year of Patrick Bistrian III; Bernasek was appointed to fill Bistrian's seat.

Anna Bernasek

BACKGROUND Bernasek, 50, has lived in the district about 10 years. She is editor and thought partner with a global think tank. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's in public policy from Princeton University. She was appointed to the board last year to serve out the term of a board member who resigned. She has two children, one enrolled in the district school and another who graduated.

KEY ISSUE "Number one, we are still managing the transition of a whole new administrative team. Number two, school finances are a big issue, especially as we face uncertainty with a new affordable housing complex that is coming in and that is going to have a big impact on our finances … The third thing is school maintenance."

Mary A. Eames

BACKGROUND Eames, 63, has lived in the district for 45 years. She has three grown children, all of whom attended the district school. She is a principal clerk at an elementary school in another district. She is an EMT with the Amagansett Fire Department EMS Squad, where she is also squad treasurer. She has been a volunteer softball coach and was one of the founders of the district's Parent Teacher Organization when her children were in school. .

KEY ISSUE "Previously I ran for to eliminate administration but now they have eliminated some of the administration so I am running strictly to serve the community for the students and the parents. I want support for the parents and the community."

Matthew Feyh

BACKGROUND Feyh, 44, has lived in the district eight years. He has two children attending the district school and works as a driver for Suffolk Cement Products. He is captain of Company 2 in the Amagansett Fire Department.

KEY ISSUE "Honest dissemination of information. There is a lot of fear mongering and from what I have been led to believe it has not been a fair process with a group coming to decisions — instead it has just been a select few telling others it should be done.”

Hank Muchnic

BACKGROUND Muchnic, 66, has lived in the district for more than 10 years. He is a stock market investor and holds a master's degree from Middlebury College and a bachelor's from Bard College. He is a Meals on Wheels volunteer, and has served on the vestry of St. Thomas Church in Amagansett. He is a board member of the Muchnic Foundation, which supports educational charities. He has served on the board of education since 2016. He has two children in the district school and one who graduated from it.

KEY ISSUE "It is always budgetary and we are going to be having some additional expenses that are going to hit us in a year," he said, referring to an affordable housing complex being built. "We have to allocate very carefully and properly for it. We don’t know how many students. This is a small school and it is effectively a big increase."

Kristen V. Peterson

BACKGROUND Peterson, 50, has lived in the district eight years. She holds a bachelor's from Ithaca college and a master's in international finance from Columbia University. She worked for more than 10 years on Wall Street and her last position there was as a sovereign and futures analyst. She is the founder of the skin care line, Babyhampton, which closed in January. She is the co-founder of Amagansett Sprouts, an organization that promotes healthy food programs for children. She has two children in the district, has served on the board since 2016 and is the current board president.

KEY ISSUE "Our board of education has been very responsible in the fiscal oversight of the school for the past three years. We have been able to keep the annual budget below the tax cap while maintaining our academic programs and excellent student achievement. We hired a new administrative team and I would like to keep overseeing the transition process for the continued success of the school."