The Hillsboro-Deering deliberative session wasn’t in progress for more than a few minutes before it was under attack with a motion made by resident Leigh Bosse to cut the budget by more than $500,000 to bring it down to the level of last year’s default. His motion was defeated, as was a subsequent motion by school board member John Segedy to cut the budget by $200,000.

Both the default budget and the proposed budget are set at $18,902,276.

Bosse cited dramatic problems with his own business and others in Hillsborough, as well as foreclosures, widespread unemployment and other dire issues resulting from the current recession for his reasons.

“My wife and I had to lay off an employee we had for 20 years. I shed a tear over that,” Bosse explained. “But we wouldn’t have been able to stay business if we hadn’t. The public sector has to learn the same thing.”

“I believe we ought to have a choice,” said resident Dave Fullerton, complaining that the default budget and the proposed budget are exactly the same number, the school board having cut down the proposed budget as a result of feedback from a public hearing.

The school board of John Stark Regional High School presented the public with something unusual Tuesday night, a proposed budget that is actually lower than the default budget. Even by the end of the hearing, during which two amendments were carried that added money back into the budget, the proposed budget remained about $67,000 lower than the $14,091,578 default.

The school board based its decision to create a lower budget partly on what they saw as a public desire to decrease the tax burden. Board member Mark Zuckerman reminded the audience that in the last two years, when the default budget was lower than the proposed budget, taxpayers had approved the default.

“The message the board took” from that response, said Mr. Zuckerman, “was to take a hard look at where the budget can be restrained.”

The board also cited the declining student population as rationale for proposing a lower-than-default budget. Addressing regrets from the audience about the personal impact of staff reductions, John Stark Principal Michael Turmelle said, “I’ve been in this building for 12 years, and it’s hard any time we have to talk about reductions.”