Here are the RSD17 voting results from 8/25/26:
| Haddam/Killingworth Regional School District #17 Referendum | |||||||||||||
| August 25, 2026 | |||||||||||||
| RESULTS | |||||||||||||
| Question: Shall we adopt Regional School District #17 Education gross budget of $52,884,118 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026? |
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| Town Totals | |||||||||||||
| YES | NO | Turnout | |||||||||||
| Haddam | 914 | 744 | 26.4% | ||||||||||
| Killingworth | 757 | 726 | 29.0% | ||||||||||
| Grand Total | 1,671 | 1,470 | 27.6% | ||||||||||
| Haddam | |||||||||||||
| YES | NO | ||||||||||||
| District | 001 | 002 | 003 | 001 | 002 | 003 | |||||||
| 435 | 447 | 32 | 329 | 392 | 23 | ||||||||
| Haddam | YES | NO | |||||||||||
| 914 | 744 | ||||||||||||
The BOE’s strategy worked exactly as predicted — keep going until voter fatigue flips the result. The No coalition went from winning by 214 in July to losing by 31 in August. That’s a 245-vote swing in six weeks
The BOE learned something dangerous from this cycle — that persistence pays off regardless of No vote margins. Expect the same playbook next year: ambitious budget, absorb No votes, reduce slightly, win in late summer when turnout favors the Yes coalition.
The No coalition learned something equally important — 31 votes. That’s the margin. The organized signage campaign and four consecutive No votes came within 16 people of making history. Whether that energy converts into BOE election candidates in November 2027 is now the defining question for Killingworth’s fiscal future.
Mr. Wood, you are correct. Killingworth’s mill rate has increased by 22+ % over the five-year period shown by the town, from 23.22 to 28.47. With the new education budget and the looming possibility of a new HKHS bond of $77.2 million, we all need to be prepared for higher taxpayer payouts.