A new program to regularly test the water at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School will go into effect after recent testing turned up a few problem spots.

At their meeting Monday, the regional high school district committee learned that four pipes had tested positive for high amounts of copper and lead in the water among 76 locations tested in the school. An ice machine in the cafeteria, two sinks and an ice machine in the culinary arts kitchen were over the limit, school facilities manager Mike Taus said.

The problem pipes were discovered during the high school’s voluntary participation in a $2 million water testing program the state launched last spring. Of 300 public schools tested so far, more than half tested high for copper or lead.

The Vineyard high school responded immediately following the discovery of problem pipes, shutting off the water to those locations, ordering second and third tests and looking into replacing pipes, Mr. Taus and principal Sara Dingledy said.

However, school committee members agreed that adding regular water testing into the school maintenance schedule would be a good idea.

The high school is connected to the Oak Bluffs municipal water supply, but the lead and copper are coming from old pipes in the school, Ms. Dingledy said. In the past, the water in the building has been tested randomly, Mr. Taus said. It was tested last year at drinking fountains and outdoor sprinklers.

“Moving forward, would we want to take it upon ourselves to more frequently, more aggressively test this facility?” committee chairman Robert Lionette asked.

“I can put [water testing] into a yearly cycle,” said Mr. Taus.

In other news, the committee learned that the school was not accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) grant program, a setback in plans to upgrade the aging facility. The MSBA provides planning assistance and funding to public schools that need rebuilding or remodeling.

But Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. Matthew D’Andrea said he is not discouraged and plans to apply again. This is the second year in a row the high school was not accepted into the program. Mr. D’Andrea said MSBA director of program management Diane Sullivan told him the high school was not needy enough to be accepted this year, but encouraged him to reapply.

“[Ms. Sullivan] did say it’s not a question of if we get in, but when we get in,” the superintendent said. “In the meantime, we are going to keep pushing forward in making sure we have the best facilities that we can at this time.”

In other business, Ms. Dingledy sought approval from the school committee to create a new position to handle all tutoring needs outside of school hours. Currently, the school contracts with a variety of outside teachers to assist students who require tutoring for a variety of reasons, from injury to school anxiety to residential programing and special education. There are available funds in the budget to pay for the position.

Tutors work with two to three students a day, every day of the school week. Tutors are also often needed over the summer, guidance counselor Mike McCarthy said.

“We’ve never not had a summer where we haven’t had tutors and kids to be able to get them back on track for the start of the next school year,” he said.

Ms. Dingledy said creating a full-time year round position will be a better way to handle the need for tutoring.

“It’s a way we can say we have a program we can offer,” she said. Mr. Lionette noted that the tutoring line item in the budget has always been a somewhat murky issue.

“The fact that this is presented in such a child-centric and student-centric way and is so thoughtful and comprehensive and focused is incredibly appreciated — it’s a marked move forward,” he said.

The committee unanimously approved the change.