At Lake Region Union High School on Monday June 3rd two board meetings were held the first lasted about 38 minutes and was sparsely attended. The second lasted more than 2 and a half hours and was attended by around 400 people. In the second meeting the object of consideration was re-considering the budget which had already passed once, but a petition signed by around 300 people meant that the matter was to be re-voted.
The meeting was originally supposed to take place in the cafeteria but as 7:00 P.M came closer it became standing room only and the first vote was unanimous by simply the 200+ strong crowd moving to the gymnasium and pulling out the bleachers. After the moderator called the meeting to order the first measure that was voted upon was weather to re-vote for the elementary middle school budget and after a close voice vote, it was changed to a raising hands vote and then it became a balloted measure where there was a very large crush of people going to their town clerk to get ballots and then submitting them into the ballot box. After many recounts by the collective town clerks they came out with a decision. 187 people for a re-vote and 185 against.
After the budget was decided to be re-voted the board gave a small presentation on the budget and the size that it was along with how people’s property taxes would be affected with the amount they could choose to cut. Board member Davi Bock from Glover gave the presentation and stressed about how the most that they could cut from the budget that would affect their taxes was 1.8 million, out of the 17.9 that the total budget comprised of. After a lot of interruptions his presentation came to a close and the floor was opened to public comment and questions. Many people asked questions or provided comments into the microphone, and the crowd clapped whole heartedly for some and a little less so for others. After public comment was closed by a voice vote, the voting on the actual budget went underway and was much more orderly then the first one. The moderator a town clerk herself choose not to help count the votes as some members of the public believed she might be allowing ballot stuffing or a different form of fraud. She announced the results with much a bated breath from the audience. The results were 187 yes, 178 no, which kept the budget of $17,387,565 from the original meeting. A cheer went through the crowd, even with about half of the people in attendance shaking their heads.
After that measure passed it was time to consider the second item of the agenda which was to appropriate a $500,000 capitol reserve fund. The measure passed on a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned.
