JAY — The Select Board voted Monday to offer former Regional School Unit 73 Director Danielle Brotherton the seat vacated by Bryan Riley last month.

Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Tuesday that Brotheron received the second highest number of votes — 237 — at the April 29 annual town meeting, losing to former Director Shari Ouellette who received 294 votes for a one-year term.

If Brotherton declines to accept the appointment, it will be offered to former Director Jodi Cordes who lost her bid for a three-year term in the April 29 election. She was one of four candidates vying for two seats on the board. She received 181 votes and Marie Beaulieu had 157, losing their bid for election.

Whoever takes the position will serve until the annual election in April 2026.

The district includes Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls.

Riley, who was elected to a three-year term in April 2024, resigned July 31, citing his health and dissatisfaction with board behavior. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy when he was nearly 2 years old.

In his resignation letter, he said the “constant unprofessional behavior of the board has been, quite frankly, disturbing to witness, and I can’t stay silent any more. It’s my hope that this letter and my resignation will do something to change this trend and reestablish a basic level of respect within the district.”

“Fishing for a legal opinion that matches one’s personal beliefs is a good way to waste taxpayer money and erode the trust that exists between faculty and the board,” he wrote. “Seeing board members leave hostile comments on official district social media pages has been deeply embarrassing.”

Riley said he is hoping to find another way to serve the community.

Also Monday, the board voted to hire Acorn Engineering, which has offices in Kingfield and Portland, to continue work to replace two large culverts on Davenport Hill Road and Alden Hill Road. The company bid $52,000, the lowest of 10 offers.

The bids ranged from $52,000 without geo technical investigation to nearly $142,000 with geo technical investigation.

LaFreniere said even if the geo technical investigation was done under Acorn’s proposal, it would still be less than the other bids. The investigation would determine if boring into ledge or rock would be needed.

In May, the board accepted a $75,000 Community Resilience Partnership Community Action Grant for the project.

LaFreniere also said Tuesday that the board held a special meeting Aug. 5 and set the tax rate for 2025-26 at $12 per $1,000 as assessed property value, down from $22 per $1,000 last year.

The town underwent a revaluation this year and selectpersons opted to use $650,000 from the undesignated fund to offset the higher valuation of some properties. They previously approved using $750,000 when the rate was estimated to be $22.40 per $1,000 of assessed value.