Bridgehampton Union Free School District

Bridgehampton Union Free School District is a public school district located in the Town of Southampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is roughly co-extensive with the hamlet (and census-designated place) of Bridgehampton.

Bridgehampton Union Free School District
Location
Southampton (town), New York

United States
District information
TypePublic School District
SuperintendentRobert Hauser
Other information
Websitewww.bridgehampton.k12.ny.us

Total enrollment in 2018-2019 school year in K-12 was 189 with 14 students graduating.[1] There is only one school in the district (which originally opened in 1931).[2] Its high school is one of the 30 smallest in the state of New York.[3]

The superintendent is Robert Hauser, who succeeded Dr. Lois Favre in February 2018 after Dr. Favre's more than seven years at Bridgehampton.[4] Mr. Hauser was previously assistant superintendent for finance and facilities at the school.

Bridgehampton School

Bridgehampton School, the only school in the district, educates students from Pre-K to Grade 12.

The sports teams are known as the "Killer Bees," and the basketball team has won nine small-school (Class D) state championships as of 2016, including in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2015.[5][6][7] Students now play football at Southampton High School in a consoritum that also includes Pierson Middle-High School in Sag Harbor, New York.[8]

During the 1990s basketball victory run, the mascot for the team changed from the "Bridgies" to the Killer Bees after Ed Kirkman on January 17, 1988, in the New York Daily News.[9][10] The away jerseys for the team still has the name "Bridgies" on it although the home jerseys have the "Bees" on them.

The basketball court originally opened in 1931 dubbed the Bee Hive or Matchbox is smaller than regulation size with it being 13 foot shorter sideline to sideline and 19 feet shorter from baseline to baseline. School officials claimed it was the smallest court in high school play in the country. The last game played in The Hive was February 2, 2020, vs. Shelter Island. In the 2020-2021 season, a new regulation court is to be built adjacent to the school as part of a $30 million expansion that also includes new classrooms.[11]

For a period that lasted through most of the 1990s, the school had a primarily African-American enrollment,[12] but a 2004 New York Times article detailed large demographic changes in the community and the school.[13]

Carl Yastrzemski broke the local high basketball scoring record before graduating in 1957 (628).[14] He attended University of Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship after graduating the school.[15] He also hit .512 while playing high school baseball and led the team to two straight Suffolk County championships.[16][17]

Shaquille O'Neal produced a documentary history of the basketball team in connection with the 2015-2016 season titled Killer Bees which was the project of Orson and Ben Cummings. Included in the movie was Joe Zucker, an artist who is a volunteer assistant coach for the team.[18][19]

Due to its small size, some have proposed that the high school portion of the school should be closed and students sent to larger nearby high schools in adjacent districts.[20] A ballot to close the high school during the 1987-88 school year narrowly succeeded, but was later overturned.[21] A 2009 initiative was also defeated.[22]

Notable alumni

References
  1. https://data.nysed.gov/gradrate.php?year=2019&instid=800000036802
  2. https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000036802
  3. http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/statistics/enroll-n-staff/home.html
  4. Sampson, Christine (January 25, 2018). "Bridgehampton School Board Appoints Four New Administrators". The Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  5. Murphy, Rick (Jan 5, 1997). "Bridgehampton's Killer Bees Gear Up to Defend the State Title". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  6. Murphy, Rick (Mar 21, 1999). "Aiming for the Next Level, He Shoots, She Scores". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  7. NYSPHSAA Champions History Archived October 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, section4hoops.com
  8. http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/Vy6jQCwRm0GkfZJVKE3emA/east-hampton-bridgehampton-pierson-bonackers/football/home.htm
  9. https://www.newspapers.com/image/434429192/?terms=Ed%2BKirkman%2BKiller%2BBees
  10. https://www.easthamptonstar.com/sports/2020211/boys-basketball-fond-farewell-hive
  11. https://sagharborexpress.com/a-final-goodbye-to-the-beehive-in-bridgehampton/
  12. "A Reprieve For Vanishing Long Island Farms?". The New York Times. June 19, 1977.("The Bridgehampton school system has already gone through its own East End version of 'white flight', and 85 percent of the school children are now black, although the total population figures are almost completely reversed.")
  13. Algar, Selim (Oct 10, 2004). "Rah-Rah Market Claims a Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  14. https://www.suffolksportshof.com/carl-yastrzemski/
  15. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/yastrzemski-carl
  16. https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/26/sports/yastrzemski-seeks-the-perfect-swing-in-his-final-innings.html
  17. http://www.yaz8.com/biography
  18. https://www.newspapers.com/image/434429192/?terms=Ed%2BKirkman%2BKiller%2BBees
  19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxQJZqClnlo
  20. "Don't Close the School (Editorial)". Dan's Papers. May 15, 2009.
  21. "Closing School May Cost Taxpayers More". Dan's Papers. May 2, 2008. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008.
  22. "School To Stay Open!". Dan's Papers. May 21, 2009.
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