Under pressure from a vocal group of fishermen, the Chilmark selectmen this week reversed a recent decision to require Menemsha leaseholders to carry extra liability insurance at their own expense.

A lively crowd filled the town hall meeting room at the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night to protest the vote that was quickly approved in a 2-1 vote on Feb. 16. Selectman Warren Doty voted no.

At the outset this week selectman Frank M. Fenner Jr. defended the board’s decision, which he said was intended to protect the town. “To me, the idea of having some kind of liability policy is a good idea. To me, the people who have leases on the land there, the town shouldn’t really necessarily have to insure them from dollar one. I believe it’s a tremendous privilege to be able to have a piece of land down around Menemsha. But there is a liability, and it’s a liability to the town,” Mr. Fenner said.

He also said he was told that the insurance increases would cost fishermen between zero and $200, if they had existing liability insurance policies in place. But as it turns out, most of the leaseholders do not carry liability coverage, meaning that the actual cost could be closer to $1,000 annually. “The last thing I’m trying to do is put any kind of hardship on the fishermen. I understand how hard they work,” said Mr. Fenner.

The decision would have affected about a dozen commercial fishermen who lease lots along the Menemsha harbor. Several of the leaseholders suggested less expensive methods of decreasing the probability of accidents. “We can put up a fence if that’s what you want,” said Pat Jenkinson. Others offered to put up no trespassing signs. “That’s insurance enough for me,” said Karsten Larsen.

Town resident Robert Zeltzer suggested conducting an insurance audit to determine what liabilities are created on the Menemsha lots, “just to make sure that the liability [insurance] carried by the town is sufficient,” he said.

If it is found to be insufficient, then the town should increase its coverage, Mr. Zeltzer said. “It would be pennies on the dollar to the town,” he said, adding: “I think we have to solve two problems here. We don’t want to have exposure that the town isn’t protected from . . . and we want to protect the fishing industry that remains here . . . that so many people have struggled to keep alive. I don’t think we should burn them any more than we have to.” The selectmen finally agreed to reconsider. “It sounded like it was a small amount of money, maybe $100, and it would take the pressure off the town,” said Mr. Fenner. “It’s not worth it to me to see a lot of strife . . . We can look into the insurance we’ve got and we can go from there.”

The board voted unanimously to rescind the Feb. 16 vote.

In other business, school administrators were asked to explain an annual town meeting warrant article asking for $250,000 for repairs to the school.

“Over the year we believe we have noticed significant problems with a large number of windows at the West Tisbury School,” Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said the money is intended to cover replacement and repairs for the windows at the school, which may have been installed improperly two decades ago.

West Tisbury School principal Bob Lane said the problem emerged in May of 2009 when a swarm of insects invaded a classroom. A pest exterminator who was called uncovered problem areas, mostly around the window banks, that included water damage and nests of termites and carpenter ants inside the walls. A visual inspection of the roof, which is not quite 15 years old, show that it might also soon need replacement.

Mr. Weiss said a feasibility study will be done before the end of the school year to determine the exact extent of the damage and the need for repairs. The study, which is expected to cost roughly $10,000, will be covered by available funds in the school budget. But he said preliminary examinations show that the problem could be widespread.

“We’re starting to worry . . . that we might really be looking at something a lot more serious,” said Mr. Lane.

School officials said the damage could be the result of faulty installation, in which case the contractors would be responsible for fixing the problem. If not, repairs could carry a price tag of more than $500,000; the cost would be shared by the three towns in the up-Island regional school district.

Between Chilmark, Aquinnah, and West Tisbury, the school is asking for a total of $550,000 for the repair project. But the number is based on early estimates and could change. Mr. Weiss said the funds must be appropriated this year in order to complete the necessary repairs by the beginning of the next school year.

The $250,000 request will come before town voters at the annual town meeting on April 26. Selectmen said they worried that not enough is known about the problem. “It’s just unnerving, knowing that this may be the tip of an iceberg,” said Mr. Fenner.