Kensington School Board affirms respect for voters, limits engagement with citizen task force and restates public comment rules

The Kensington School Board on an evening meeting reviewed and formalized its response to a citizen-formed task force and reiterated its public input rules.

Board Chair Stephanie Schmidt said the board “honors and upholds the will of the voters” after a recent town meeting vote that rejected creation of a citizen advisory budget committee, and added that the board will not be collaborating with or endorsing any independent group that is presenting itself as a task force. Schmidt told members the board would instead route any formal requests for information through the superintendent’s office “in accordance with New Hampshire's right to know law RSA 91-A.”

The board also reviewed its public input policy, which Schmidt summarized: meetings are open to the press and public; the board will generally schedule public comment in the first half of meetings; the board will provide a minimum of 30 minutes for public comment that may be extended by a majority vote; and “individual speakers will be allotted 3 minutes per person.” The board noted it may change the per‑speaker time limit at the outset of a public comment period but any change applies equally to all speakers.

Board members and staff emphasized that formal information requests should follow the district’s public‑records procedures rather than through informal channels. The board said it remains committed to transparency and to developing a fiscally responsible budget “through collaboration with our administration, community input during public meetings and existing budgetary processes,” language recited by Schmidt during the discussion.

No formal motion to change policy was taken; the remarks served to clarify the board’s position and to remind the public of existing procedures for comment and records requests.