Select board reviews Hampden–Wilbraham regional school agreement changes, raises questions on weighted voting and capital apportionment

Select Board member Don said the Town of Hampden received a proposed amended regional school agreement from the Hampden‑Wilbraham Regional School Committee and representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were pressing for specific changes.

The committee language would require that each member town’s representative carry a single "weighted" vote tied to population, to ensure compliance with the federal “one person, one vote” principle. That would change current practice in which Hampden and Wilbraham’s representation and district appropriation formula (often described as a "5 and 2" split) already influence each town’s power in district matters. Don said the proposed weighted voting could mean an individual Hampden member holds less than one full vote (he cited an example of ~0.85) and described scenarios in which a…