Local Child Poverty Rates Continue to Rise in East Hampton

Despite the wealthy tax base in East Hampton Town, child poverty rates are on the rise. According the U.S. Census Bureau's annual estimate of child poverty, which was released last week, the percentage of 5 to 17 year olds belonging to families considered impoverished has steadily risen nationally since 2007.

Within town boundaries, the has the highest rate of children whose families are in poverty with 8.8 percent. Springs School District, which is dealing with issues such as providing lunch to students who come with none and has identified illegal housing as overtaxing its school system, has the second highest.

District follows, then by , and . District, which is split between East Hampton and Southampton Towns, has the lowest child poverty rate at just below 3 percent.

Though none of the East Hampton districts come close to the national poverty rate of 18.2 percent, the majority of their rates have increased since 2007, most are above or hovering the county rate of 7 percent for 2009.

Isabel Madison, the pupil personnel director in East Hampton School District, said, said the Free and Reduced-Priced Lunch program has increased about 10 percent in the 2010 over the prior school year. Yet, most districts don't offer the program because they simply don't have a cafeteria.

In Springs, Michael Hartner, the superintendent, said he was not surprised that Census data showed 8.1 percent of children 5 to 17 belong to families in poverty. It's up more than 1.3  percent since 2007, though it dipped slightly to 6.6 percent in 2008. "That sounds about right, it may be a little bit of an underestimate even."

The 2009 child poverty estimates, called Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), for school districts were based on poverty tabulations from the 2000 Census and on 2008 tax returns.

"SAIPE combines the latest American Community Survey (ACS) data with aggregate data from federal tax information, administrative records on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation, 2000 Census statistics and annual population estimates," the bureau explained on its Web site.

For a family of two adults and two children, the income threshold was $21,756, down $78 from 2008. Typically, the threshold rises each year, but it dipped in 2009 because the Consumer Price Index was lower, according to the Census Bureau.

While the report showed 849 children between 5 and 17 living in the district, Hartner said there are a little more than 1,000 students; 650 attend kindergarten through eighth grade at Springs School, 286 attend East Hampton High School, four more attend other public high schools, and 60 are enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program, and other children who attend the , and Mercy in Riverhead.

"It's certainly high for the Hamptons. I'm guessing we stick out like a sore thumb," Hartner said. Bridgehampton School District, with over 11 percent, is the highest for the South Fork.

He's concerned about what the increasing poverty rates mean for his district. "It's a concern partly in light of the fact that we don't have a food service program," he continued. Without a cafeteria, students bring their lunch to Springs School and eat during a supervised lunch period from classrooms. Health department laws prevent the school from serving lunch with a proper food preparation area.

In the meantime, a bagged lunch program for those who don't bring lunch in, is donated to the students in need. At least 7 students, and sometimes as many as 15 eat from the food cart each day, Hartner said.

Hartner attributes his district's higher rate to the lower cost of housing. "Housing prices and rental costs are lower in Springs than any other area," he said. The district has been vocal about the fact that it has identified numerous illegal multi-family dwellings. "We know their addresses, some buildings, where there are four families living."

Springs also has a high percentage of Latinos in the district -- 45 percent, according to the State Department of Education Report Cards, Hartner said. "I know from being here, it's under 45 percent in the upper grades and more than 45 percent in the lower grades. We're heading towards 50 to 55 percent."

Meanwhile, Sag Harbor School District, where just under 3 percent fall into the poverty rate, has the lowest rate of the South Fork districts that actually have one. Sagaponack for instance has none.

Dr. John Gratto, the superintendent, said that about 2 percent of the student body is eligible for the Free Lunch and Reduced-Price Lunch program, though he believes the numbers across the board are actually higher.

"People are prideful that they qualify for the free student lunch program. I've seen this throughout every school district I've been in. There's embarrassment about it," Dr. Gratto said. There are safeguards to protect the financial status of a student's family, however. When a child who qualify is rung up at the register on the lunch line, they just punch a certain button.

Dr. Gratto said he isn't exactly sure why the poverty rate in the district is lower than elsewhere on the South Fork, other than it might have to do with demographics.

According to the State Department of Education Report Card for 2009, the school district was 83 percent white, 13 percent Hispanic or Latino,  and 2 percent Black or African American.

Jack Perna, the superintendent of the Montauk School District, said he, too, wasn't surprised that his district fell in third behind East Hampton and Springs. "East Hampton has a more diverse population," he said.

About 8 percent of the children are from families in poverty. Despite a 1.5 percent since 2007, state aid under the No Child Left Behind Act has decreased. Montauk had once received as much as $110,000, but in 2010-11 ,it received $53,000, down $5,000 from the year before.

"The State always says, 'You're the Hamptons.' When they say, 'You're the rich, rich, rich,' well, we're not that rich," Perna said. "Most of us blue collar workers out here, and Montauk is very seasonal. In Montauk, we close down at the end of October," Perna said.

While there is also no cafeteria at his school, there is a program coined the "Jeans Fund." Teachers can wear jeans on Fridays if they pay $1 that is used to buy cereal, fruit, granola bars, and cheese and crackers to feed kids who have no lunch.

Perhaps most surprising were the numbers that came out of the smaller districts of Amagansett and Wainscott. According to the Census Bureau, 6.2 percent of those in Amagansett School District are at poverty level, and 6.1 percent of children in Wainscott School District.

Eleanor Tritt, the superintendent in Amagansett, said children bring in their own lunch since there is no cafeteria. "I don't see any problems," she said.

"I'm surprised about it," said Dominic Annacone, the superintendent and principal for the school that goes up to fourth grade. In 14 years in the district, he had never seen a problem, though he admitted he would not know if students in fifth through twelfth grade are seeking assistance at the East Hampton schools the district sends them to.