A new early childhood center planned at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services cleared a final hurdle Monday night when the regional high school district committee agreed to lease additional land to the social services agency.

The school committee voted unanimously to authorize the chairman to sign a 99-year lease for 1.9 acres adjacent to the Community Services campus. The school committee has already agreed to lease three acres for the new $7 million center; the added land is needed in order to build a nitrogen-removing septic system.

“This is the final piece to put the whole thing to rest,” said Julie Fay, executive director of Community Services, speaking to the Gazette by phone Tuesday. “It feels very good.”

The first phase of a larger, multimillion-dollar campus overhaul, the early childhood center is expected to break ground sometime this month.

Also on Monday, the school committee heard a report on student disciplinary action.

Director of student affairs Dhakir Warren said that so far this school year there have been 10 mediations with students, two out-of-school suspensions and two expulsions. He said the numbers are lower this year compared to last year, but that his department is working to provide students with proper educational resources and clinical support.

Principal Sara Dingledy said the school is conducting a social and emotional screening for the freshman class to identify patterns of behavior and identify proper interventions for students, along with building resilience and accountability.

Assistant principal Barabara-Jean Chauvin also said the school’s carpentry program is building benches as part of an initiative to promote conversation and connection among students.

Finance director Mark Friedman reported on school expenditures, saying he expects a balanced budget for fiscal year 2021, and noting an increase in OPEB and retirement costs this year.

School committee member Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter 3rd underscored the importance of a responsible spending plan, especially after last year when end-of-year budget shortfalls sparked criticism from public officials and taxpayers, as well as a complicated political process for voters.

“I don’t want to end up in the financial fiasco we ended up in last year, $300,000 in the hole and not have any way to plug it,” Mr. Manter said. “We should have a balanced checkbook as we go along.”

Finally, assistant principal Jeremy Light said the school is launching a campaign to rebrand athletic uniforms. Purple is the Vineyarder color. In previous years, uniforms have varied in shade with different logos. Mr. Light said he hopes to “bring it all together to use the same marks and colors.”