An otherwise orderly Mathews County Board of Supervisors budget public hearing Monday night became rambunctious at the end when supervisors decided to break the board’s previously-stated decision not to comment on the proceedings and instead chose to make their own remarks.

The historic courthouse was packed to the corners with residents, many of them school employees who were there to protest a budget that falls short of the school board’s funding request. Some of them carried signs, including young Sam Tomcany, whose poster read, “I’m worth it!”

The meeting began with a brief presentation from County Administrator Mindy Conner, who said that the county’s $24.76 million budget is reasonable and “addresses, to the best of our ability, the competing needs of our citizens.” She pointed out that the budget relies on real estate taxes, but that the county’s tax base is shrinking and that 75 percent of the expenditures are mandatory. S...