At the Otis Special Town Meeting, March 25, 117 voters clicked "yes" on the new town voting system. "No" votes totaled 68.

The numbers meant that the Regional District Agreement (RDA) proposal for the Farmington River Regional School District (FRRSD) had passed.

Most of the Otis voters - and the handful of Sandisfield residents in attendance - felt a sense of relief. The next school year would see business as usual for the running of the local two-town school district. Had the vote gone the other way, the school district would have been put in jeopardy as Sandisfield, one of the two towns, had threatened to leave the district if the revised agreement was voted down.

There was tension in the Town Hall, but for the most part the meeting was amicable.

The school committee had worked for more than two years to propose the RDA changes which would shift the apportionment each town pays toward its share of the school budget. For many years, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Sandisfield has been paying significantly more than what it can afford.

The Otis Average Single Family Tax Bill (ASFTB) was projected to increase this year by only $36, which is just $3 per month. Whereas, the ASFTB for Sandisfield was projected to decline by $339 for the year.

Sandisfield had already approved the new agreement by a vote of 53-0 in February. Now it was up to the Town of Otis to vote.

While the School Committee and the Teachers/Administrators union publicly favored the RDA proposal, the Otis Select Board had issued a statement in opposition, and a few postings on the Connect Sandisfield Facebook page, most originating from Otis residents, were very much against it. Posts on the Otis and East Otis Friends Facebook page were unavailable.

One Otis voter, who had attended every School Board and Otis Select Board meeting for the last two years to educate herself about the RDA proposals, spoke in favor of passage. She added that the school currently has a "B plus" rating and the teachers are rated "A plus," so "why do we cast shade on them?"

Another voter pointed out that CEY (Combined Effort Yield, a figure that determines a town's wealth) will be used per the new RDA to determine how much each town pays going forward. She described the CEY as an "equalizer."

Some voters complained that they didn't understand the RDA, and others asked that the school committee bring in an independent arbitrator.

However, as more speakers stepped up, most of the speakers appeared in favor of accepting the new agreement. When discussion was finally closed, the vote was called.