AUGUSTA — In a rare move, the Augusta Board of Education voted 6-1 Wednesday to censure member James Orr for his conduct during the student walkout at Cony Middle and High School in April protesting school budget cuts.

Dozens gathered in the cafeteria of the Capital Area Technical Center to show support for Orr, the Ward 3 representative, and to criticize the board’s actions.

In his presentation to the board, Superintendent Mike Tracy said he received reports from Cony students and the principal of Cony Middle and High School during the April walkout that Orr confronted and chastised protesting students, called them names and tried to get the principal to take administrative action against the students.

“The concern is that a board member, acting outside of their purview, creates a risk of liability for the school,” Tracy said.

The decision to censure a board member was unprecedented, so Chair Martha Witham said she asked one of their attorneys from Drummond Woodsum, Peter Felmly, to advise them on the process during the meeting.

Felmly said the board does not have the power to expel a member but could discipline members through censure or removal from specific committees.

Orr defended his actions, saying because a student’s place of duty is in the school, they do not have full constitutional rights while at school. He said if students want to protest, they should do it after school hours.

“This is not the time or the place for them to go out and protest,” Orr said. “They’re on taxpayer-paid time. They were on my dime for them to go out there and do their little protest.”

Orr also said he never called students stupid, but rather called what they were doing stupid. He said he was not acting in an official capacity when he told students to go back to class and therefore was not violating the board’s code of ethics.

Orr suggested the board hold a workshop to discuss the code of ethics in depth to make sure all members are on the same page.

Six board members voted to approve Orr’s censure; he was the only one to vote against it.

The decision formally ordered Orr to cease from overstepping his elected role and interfering with daily school operations.

At that point, Orr walked out of the meeting, calling the board a “kangaroo court” and threw papers on the floor. The crowd directed angry comments at the board as they moved into a recess, causing two police officers to enter the room to calm people down.

Several members of the public spoke out against the board’s decision during the public comment period.

Nicholas Blanchard, a conservative activist who goes by “Corn Pop,” said the school board will lose the same amount of money through federal funding as the budget cuts if they do not comply with Title IX and the recent Supreme Court decision upholding state bans on transgender student athletes.

“Are you gonna allow students to protest that budget cuts?” Blanchard said. “Are you gonna allow a bunch of students to protest them losing federal funds?”

Blanchard sued the Augusta school board in April, with a federal judge ruling in a preliminary injunction part that the board was not allowed to enforce certain restrictions on public comment. The case has not yet been resolved.

Lisa Gagne, a Belgrade resident, said the board was unfairly targeting Orr while not doing anything about board member James Reynolds who has a domestic violence-related charge on his record.

“I have a big problem,” Gagne said. “We have good versus evil. Everything is inverted. How do you people sleep at night?”

Reynolds’ criminal history has been the focus of public comment in school board meetings recently, with Tim Bodnar, known online as “Truth Slinger X,” calling him a “woman beater” during the June 10 board meeting. The Augusta School Department is currently suing Bodnar for allegedly assaulting a school employee while giving public comment during that meeting.

Reynolds pleaded guilty to domestic violence assault in 2022, which was dismissed after a deferred disposition. That means Reynolds was not convicted, and his charges were dismissed after he complied with certain conditions.

Reynolds spoke during Wednesday’s meeting about his past and the concerns raised about him. He said he has not tried to keep his past a secret and has passed every background check necessary to sit on the board and hold other professional positions.

“I cannot tell you with my whole heart how sincerely embarrassed, ashamed and guilt-filled I (am) from the things in my past that I work on every day,” Reynolds said. “I’m grateful for the people of Augusta, I’m grateful for the continued support, I’m grateful for the ability the state of Maine allows people with criminal histories to still change their life and run for elected bodies.”

Reynolds, former organizing director for the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project, has been open about being in active recovery from addiction. He left the meeting after speaking, saying he was going home to put his son to bed.

Tracy said school educators and employees who work with students receive a basic background check and a Department of Education background check, while employees like board members, who receive a small stipend from the school each month, undergo only a basic background check. School board members who have been elected also have to be confirmed by the City Council through a separate process.

“I don’t care to speak negatively about people because I’m a healed person,” Reynolds said in an interview Thursday. “I am confident in who I am today and the work I’ve done, and (I am) aware of the truth about my past.”