WELLINGTON — A public hearing held here Wednesday fulfilled state requirements for the school-closing process, despite the fact SAD 4 directors walked out of the meeting and it was conducted by the superintendent of schools, according to SAD 4’s legal counsel.

The legality of the meeting on the proposed closing of the town’s one-room schoolhouse became an issue after eight of the nine directors in attendance left the meeting early, a few minutes after residents turned their chairs around to face them.

The state requires a public hearing and referendum on any school closing.

After listening to Superintendent Norman Higgins explain the process involved in the closing of the school and why the board took the action, Selectman Harry Williford objected to his conducting the public hearing. He said Higgins, new on the job, had not been part of the past conversations on the move to close the school and that residents wanted to talk directly with those who took the action.

Sweeping his hand toward a long, empty table with chairs at the front of the fire hall, Williford declared angrily, “The board of directors do not have the strength of their convictions to sit before us and answer questions.” He then asked residents to turn their chairs around to face the directors who sat near the back of the hall. The directors stood and later left, prompting shouts and boos. Director Richard Garrett of Wellington remained at the meeting.

That the directors left, coupled with the fact that Higgins couldn’t tell residents what would happen to their school if it were closed, led residents to question whether it was a legal public hearing and if another should be conducted.

After consulting with the district’s attorney, Higgins said Thursday that the public hearing, the purpose of which was to provide residents an opportunity to ask questions and express their views, was called by the Board of Selectmen.

“Since I was present on behalf of the district for the entire meeting, it is our judgment that the requirements for the hearing were satisfied,” Higgins said. The district will hold the Oct. 3 referendum to close the Wellington and Abbot schools as planned, he said.

A poster displayed on the window of the town office announcing the public hearing said it all: Wellington vs. SAD 4. While it wasn’t intended to become a confrontational meeting, months of frustration by both residents and SAD 4 directors surfaced.

For residents, it was their last chance before the referendum to get answers directly from the decision-makers about why their school was targeted for closure. For directors, it was a matter of duty to complete the formal process of closing the school.

More than one resident tried to get the directors to return to the meeting, including former director and Wellington resident Gloria Brown. “Think of your kids first and not fight,” she pleaded.

Director Conrad Rollins did return briefly and told residents that “if they wanted to act like humans instead of a bunch of animals,” the directors would talk. “If you want to create a war — we versus they — we’re out of here,” he said.

Some in attendance asked why the directors couldn’t sit and face them as residents were required to at school board meetings. Rollins left, and the directors did not return to the meeting.

Higgins, who inherited the issue from former superintendent Raymond Poulin Jr., now deputy commissioner of the Department of Education, has remained neutral on the issue. He said the residents and directors have become so polarized that it was important for someone to stay neutral.

“Your children are still part of the SAD 4 school system,” Higgins said. He said he had work to get a conversation going between school directors and residents.

“We can’t work things out if we can’t sit face to face. It was our one chance. We’re still here, they’re on the road,” said Steve Chaisson, prompting Williford’s reply that the board acted in an “arrogant and cowardly manner.”

Tempers continued to flare. Garrett said residents were told that if they supported the construction of a new middle school, the district would not close the Wellington school. “We supported the grand empire building,” and nearly the same day the new school opened, our school was targeted for closure, he said. “We feel that we have no trust in Guilford at this point. We were led down the path and we were just pushed off the path,” he said.

Barbara Chaisson, a member of a districtwide task force from 1990 to 1995, reminded residents that the move to close the school was in direct conflict with the findings of the task force, which recommended that the small schools remain open.

Faced with rising costs and a decline in revenue, directors earlier this year eliminated or reduced the hours of 17 positions and voted to close the two small schools, which cost about $100,000 to operate.

At the Oct. 3 referendum, residents can vote to keep their school open for the remainder of the year by paying $10,708 in addition to the local allocation. The actual cost to operate the school is $41,000, according to Higgins, and the difference would be borne by the district.

If residents vote to close the school, the pupils will be transported to the Cambridge or Parkman schools.