Regional School District 08 advances budget after dispute over public comment

Regional School District 08 advanced its proposed budget after a heated exchange over whether the public comment period had been held.

RHAM Life, who spoke during the meeting, said they were worried about the proposal and about outside commentary theyd not seen, saying, "Im concerned." RHAM Life also defended the districts numbers, noting the districts roughly $33 million budget and describing the proposed increase as about $1 million, and arguing the figure was "incredibly reasonable."

The procedural dispute focused on the timing of public comment. Terry raised a point of order, saying, "I do believe that this meeting is out of order since you didn't allow public comment beforehand," and later pressed members on residents' financial strain, saying, "You guys are bankrupting three communities" and warning that people were selling homes or deferring repairs because of tax burdens. The speaker apologized for emotion but reiterated concerns about the impact on residents.

After exchanges about whether an amendment could be offered and whether a defeated motion would be remanded to individual towns, a motion to adjourn was called. RHAM Life announced the motion, noted it had a second, asked for a vote and declared, "Motion passes." No roll-call vote or tally was recorded on the transcript.

The meeting closed after the chair accepted the result. The transcript records disagreement about whether public comment had been allowed earlier; the record does not show a formal amendment vote or a detailed roll-call on the budget itself, only the adjournment vote that ended the session.