East Hampton teachers had had it with allergies from mold, poor ventilation and overcrowded classrooms, according to local union president President Priscilla Campbell.

So, when the Long Island district proposed a bond act to retrofit three buildings and add to the high school, East Hampton Teachers Association members went all-out to get voter support.

They staffed phone banks, wrote letters to newspapers and hosted school tours so residents could see deficiencies in the buildings.

In her 16 years as a high school history teacher, Campbell has seen the school population nearly double to its current 1,100.

"We have teachers working in closets, we have classes in the cafeteria and we have classes on the stage in the auditorium," Campbell said.

In the past four years, the district has brought in nine portable buildings to serve as classrooms and offices.

Campbell is particularly pleased that the community is supporting the decision to "go green."

"We've had report after report of people getting sick," she said. Mold has been a problem, especially since the community is near the ocean and has high humidity. Classrooms are poorly ventilated and lack air conditioning, she added.

In one room, mold was so visible that "if we went on vacation for a week you could come back and see it on the floor," Campbell said. "We really believe children deserve a better school."

She calls Superintendent Raymond Gualtieri "innovative" in planning the green standard for East Hampton.

While people are sometimes put off by building costs that can be higher when constructing green, she said, "The savings over time are immense."