By SAM BUNGEY

A $1.5 million wastewater proposal for Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School hit the skids once again Monday night when the high school committee decided it was not ready to send the matter for vote at pending Island annual town meetings.

The proposal to link the high school with the Oak Bluffs wastewater plant still lacks a complete set of designs; written agreements from Oak Bluffs town and wastewater commission or potential financial backers; and permitting at the state level for construction.

For lack of a regional facilities manager, superintendent of schools James H. Weiss has been heading up the project. Having received critical feedback from financial advisory committees and town leaders over the past months, Mr. Weiss now is keen to address all concerns with the project before pushing for final approval at a town level.

“We were trying to move forward quickly,” said Mr. Weiss yesterday, “but the questions raised showed that moving forward quickly was not a good thing.”

The proposed sewage solution for the high school — which is operating at a state-regulated capacity with its current septic system — has been making the rounds for nearly a year.

Last fall Mr. Weiss introduced the high school committee to the idea of using a satellite sewage system. The high school would link up with the Oak Bluffs wastewater facility which would then channel the waste, treated, back to the leaching field at the back of the high school.

The proposal was touted as an alternative to an on-site sewage system which had drawn criticism from neighbors to the high school and was voted down at Oak Bluffs annual town meeting last April.

Mr. Weiss pointed to the prospect of financial support from Martha’s Vineyard YMCA, which plans to construct a multi-million dollar building on land leased from the high school. The system, it was argued, would benefit the neighborhood, which is also home to the ice rink and elderly housing. Possible tie-in arrangments with these private non-profit organisations would work to bring costs down further, argued Mr. Weiss.

The proposal was removed from this year’s tight high school budget at the last minute amid drama over proposed instructional cuts. Mr. Weiss cited uncertainty about the project’s estimated costs as a factor in removing the item at the time.

Mr. Weiss, however, continued to push the project forward.

“We can’t add a bathroom or even a faucet,” he said at the beginning of this year. He added that the Rebecca Amos Institute and the horticulture program, both part of the high school, are operating without bathrooms.

In January the school committee voted to move ahead on the project “with all due speed,” and approved spending for design work.

Then, at the start of February, the committee rescinded a vote to float a bond for the project after it came to light that the school district had not properly notified the towns that they have a voice in the matter under state law. Members of the district have 60 days from the time the school district votes to adopt a bond issue to express their disapproval of the debt at a town meeting. And it takes only one town to turn it down.

At the same time, the date of this month’s meeting was put back two weeks, to March 17, so that if the committee voted once again to go forward, Aquinnah’s May annual town meeting, held in May, would fall within 60 days.

Meanwhile, without a written financial agreement with the YMCA, town leaders balked at the cost of the project. It became clear that, in its current state, the proposal would have trouble getting past all towns.

Larry Mercier was a member of the Edgartown financial committee who voted against recommending the bond issue.

“The Rebecca Amos Institute has been there for years and it hasn’t been an issue before,” he said yesterday, “It’s in walking distance to the high school. It’s not really an issue.

“This is really for the Y and if it’s being built for the Y and they should participate in the cost,” he said. “Taxes go up every year and the town shouldn’t have to fund a private enterprise.”

Mr. Weiss had a different take. “We’re doing this for ourselves, because we need it,” he said. “If the Y want to get involved it’s a bonus.”

John Clese, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA, is encouraging on the issue.

“It will be great if the high school system goes ahead — and we can help them with the cost. We always like to work with the high school,” Mr. Clese said.

But he went on to express some doubt about the project’s popularity with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission as the holistic solution for an area of rapid growth.

“It won’t necessarily be the best solution for the area long-term in the eyes of the commission,” he said.

The YMCA is set to start clearing ground on the property later this month. Backers will look to raise a further $2 million and begin construction by mid-summer. “We all need to figure out where we’re going with this around the same time,” Mr. Clese said.

Susan Parker, chairman of the high school committee, approved of Monday’s decision to delay.

“There was this little window to get in everyone’s questions here, but it’s better to wait and be completely ready,” she said

Ms. Parker added support for the efforts of Mr. Weiss: “What does a super know about wastewater? He needs to get as much advice as possible.”

In January, Mr. Weiss hired Vineyard Haven engineering firm Schofield, Barbini and Hoehn. He hopes to have designs by the start of March.

Meanwhile he has enlisted the help of Tighe and Bond, a Massachusetts consulting firm. “I was overwhelmed by the project,” the superintendent said.

Mr. Weiss said the initial reaction from the firm has been positive. “The project makes sense to them as does the recent delay — they recommended against fast-tracking,” he added.

Keen to emphasise his confidence in Mr. Barbini’s engineering firm, Mr. Weiss said it has been crucial to have an independent voice to guide him through some of the murkier areas of wastewater management.

“They talk in this language I don’t understand,” he said, “I don’t speak wastewater. I speak education.”