A packed house filled Old Town Hall February 28 for a particularly special Special Town Meeting.

The main event, Article 1, was whether or not to approve amendments to the FRRSD Regional District Agreement (RDA) between the towns of Sandisfield and Otis. The chief reason for amending the RDA was to change the apportionment that each town pays toward the funding of the school.

The Town of Otis is scheduled to vote on the amendments at their own Special Town Meeting March 25. In order for the revision to be accepted, both towns must approve the amendments by majority vote. The rub is that the change may increase property taxes for Otis while lowering them for Sandisfield.

If the amendments are not approved by Otis, Sandisfield has said it may withdraw from the school district.

During the discussion on the motion, Barbara Cormier indicated that she supported the RDA amendment, and that if it was approved by Sandisfield but not by Otis that Sandisfield should vote to leave the district at its Annual Town Meeting in May.

In answer to a question of what would happen if Sandisfield did leave the school district, it was determined that the question be delayed until after the Otis vote and be raised again in advance of the Annual Town Meeting, if necessary.

When Moderator Dominic Konstam called for a vote, Article 1 passed unanimously, 53-0.

Article II included changes to the town's bylaws, including major additions for the Annual Budget, a Capital Improvement Plan, and Approval of Warrants.

One interesting note was that an amendment was made to change the wording in the bylaws to reflect gender neutrality. This amendment was passed by a three-quarter majority, which demonstrates that for those who attended the meeting DEI remains important despite Washington's recent policies to eliminate DEI legislation.

Article III included changes regarding town audits. During discussion, David Hubbard, a former Finance Committee member, said that passing this article would help correct Sandisfield's past fiscal problems caused by the town's failure to conduct audits in a timely manner.

Article IV was to pay utility bills that had missed the fiscal year deadline for a total of $131.74.

With that, the evening's participants who had remained to the end wished each other good night and went along home.