School board meetings in Bethel Park used to be such quiet affairs. A handful of residents might show up; perhaps a sports team or coach would be there if a proposed trip were on the agenda.

It was also pretty quiet that night in early 2008 when, after more than two years of dealing with architects, an ad hoc committee and a handful of residents who were regulars at the meetings, the board decided to pursue the construction of a new high school.

Since then, it has taken almost 14 months of more public meetings, private meetings and a victory in the Allegheny County court system, but a time frame has been set for the August groundbreaking.

And now things are getting noisy.

The big news at last week's school board meeting was the 6-0 approval of a $70 million budget for the 2009-10 school year. The board authorized a 0.55 millage increase, to 23.73 mills on property tax.

This represents approximately a 1.3 percent increase in overall operating expenses.

Protocol at the beginning of the night allowed residents to comment only on agenda items, saving the non-agenda talk for afterward. A few who spoke were applauded, to which board president Donna Cook requested those in the audience refrain from cheering: "This is a business meeting, not a hockey game," she said.

This in turn prompted someone in the crowd to shout: "This is a public meeting."

There were complaints about taxes, and the fact that three school board members, as well as Superintendent Thomas Knight, were absent.

Dr. Knight, Mrs. Cook said, was dealing with a family emergency. Others on the school board and staff had vacations, illness or business to attend; Assistant Superintendent Nancy Rose, for example, was in China with a delegation from Bethel Park.

The vote on the budget was originally scheduled for May 28, not for the June 25 meeting. It was postponed in hopes that more information on the state budget would be available shortly.

"Probably one of the biggest challenges at arriving at this year's final budget was the not knowing about the state funding," Mrs. Cook said.

"Our budget is made up of 75 percent local revenue, 24 percent state revenue and 1 percent federal revenue."

She added that Bethel Park recently began a Classrooms of the Future program through a state grant, but such funding is threatened in the proposed Pennsylvania budget.

The whole official agenda was covered in about 35 minutes. But when it came time for residents' comments, it turned out that the night had just begun.

Speakers were limited to two minutes, although a handful went back to the microphone two or three times. The meeting adjourned just after 10 p.m.

For the most part, the crowd of about 80 residents -- many of whom were there with an anti-construction organization called Save Bethel High -- kept the peace.

Occasionally, there were boos and guffaws, such as when resident Carrie Virgin, who supports the new building project, said: "Historically, there will never be a 'right' time to spend money. ... You want to 'save' the high school, save it for whom?"

There were a couple of claps from the crowd, but mostly boos. Director Dan Duff responded by saying "I would hope you'd show the same respect for every speaker, regardless of your opinion."

The group has requested that Bethel Park administrators postpone groundbreaking on the $98 million project and instead hold a public referendum to allow voters to decide if the community at large wants the new high school.

Many have argued that a new building is an unnecessary extravagance. Others have said their chief concern was lack of funding, that looking down the road at having enough money for pensions for teachers dictates holding off on major construction.

Proponents of the new building argue that school board members are not mind readers; few residents raised protests during the long process leading up to groundbreaking.

Resident Gina Brownfield said she brought her son that night because she wanted him to witness a public meeting. She called "the way some people have been acting here tonight" arrogant.

Addressing the board, she said, "You've been good enough to sit here and take it."