The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School district committee meeting ended abruptly on Monday night following a peculiar exchange when several committee members refused to talk about the nonrenewal of an assistant principal’s contract in open or executive session.

When the committee began to discuss the hiring process for a new assistant principal to replace Neal Weaver, committee member Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter raised questions about the need for a replacement.

“I’d like to know more about how the vacancy came about in the first place,” said Mr. Manter. He then read aloud a fax message, dated March 4, that he had received from superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss to high school committee members.

“Please accept this heads-up as confidential,” the message read. “Today, Steve [Nixon, high school principal] discussed with Neal Weaver the fact that his contract is due to expire at the end of the year and would not be renewed. Steve will be in contact with each of you to discuss the issue more fully.”

Mr. Manter said he was uncomfortable with school administrators contacting school committee members privately; he said if the decision not to renew Mr. Weaver’s contract was based on complaints against the assistant principal, the complaints should be discussed among the entire committee at its monthly meeting.

School committee chairman Susan Mercier said it was inappropriate for the committee to discuss the matter in public, and she called for a vote to go into executive session. “I will not sit here, and in a public session of a high school committee of which I am chairman, have a personnel discussion,” Mrs. Mercier said.

But the vote to go into executive session failed 5-2. Mr. Manter again asked for a public discussion, and committee member Priscilla Sylvia moved to adjourn the meeting. The vote was 6-1 in favor and the meeting ended.

Contacted by telephone following the meeting, Mr. Manter said he was unaware of any incident involving the assistant principal that might have prompted the nonrenewal of his contract. Mr. Manter said he had not yet discussed the matter with committee members or school administrators, but he said he believes all school business should be discussed at school committee meetings, period.

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said later by telephone that Mr. Weaver was not involved in an incident. “There was no incident. It isn’t like he did x wrong and we’re letting him go,” the superintendent said. He said the note from him which went to committee members by fax and e-mail was simply following protocol.

“As is my custom when anything is going to happen with important matters in schools I try to give the school committee members a heads-up . . . [The message was] to let them know there would be a mutual decision that Mr. Weaver would not be coming back. The matter is a personnel matter and is not discussed at school committee level,” Mr. Weiss said.

In other business earlier at the meeting Monday, the school committee accepted several monetary donations including $1,500 in scholarship money from Our Island Club, $84 from Angela Feltman of Heart of Stone Jewelry, $1,000 for the David Brand Scholarship Fund, and $20,000 from the estate of Dorothy Bloch, which will be followed by another $8,000 donation when the estate is closed.

The school also accepted the donation of an Epson printer and ink cartridges, valued at $2,800.

School guidance director Michael McCarthy had some good news, reporting a student drop-out rate of 0.8 per cent for the school year 2008-09, far below the state average of 9.3 per cent. He said the high school works to identify students’ ability levels in eighth grade, to make sure they are enrolled in appropriate course levels when they enter the high school. He added that the regional high school’s early intervention STAR program, which helps to keep struggling students on track academically, aids in keeping drop-out rates low.