A proposal to establish a new fund for improvements to the buildings and campus at the regional high school will come before voters in every Island town this year.

The so-called MVRHS capital stabilization fund would be a line item in the school budget and allow the school to save money for campus improvements for extended time periods, rather than assigning funds year to year.

“We have a general fund, but that money expires at end of fiscal year,” school finance manager Mark Friedman explained. He said planning for school improvement projects that involve a bidding process can take longer than a year. The school schedule adds other complications, with most projects needing to be completed over the summer.

“The stabilization fund would be a benefit for the high school because it would allow the high school to plan for and put monies into a fund that would not expire over time,” Mr. Friedman said.

Finance committees in three towns have said they do not support the measure.

“Our principal concern is that the fund is set up for various unspecified capital and maintenance projects,” said West Tisbury finance committee chairman Gary Montrowl. His committee voted unanimously to oppose the fund. “There isn’t sufficient accountability in terms of oversight,” Mr. Montrowl said. “Normally what we’d like to see in these things is a request for specific amount of money for a specific project.”

Finance committees in Chilmark and Oak Bluffs have also voted against recommending the measure, but their counterparts in Tisbury, Aquinnah and Edgartown are backing it. Jeff Kristal, chairman of the finance committee in Tisbury, said stabilization funds can protect taxpayers from spikes in the budget due to one-time projects.

“It’s pre-planning,” Mr. Kristal said. “It’s always best to try to get a handle on things by putting money aside.”

The measure will need to pass at four of the six town meetings, or a majority of the towns in the regional high school district, to become reality. Aquinnah approved the article at a special town meeting last month after some discussion. Voters in West Tisbury, Tisbury, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown will take up the proposal at their annual town meetings next week. Chilmark will vote at its annual town meeting on April 23.

The overall school operating budget for fiscal year 2018 is $19.9 million. Mr. Friedman said small facilities projects, like fixing a sink, can be taken care of through that budget, and large projects, like replacing a roof, are typically done with borrowed money, but there is a third category where a stabilization fund would be particularly helpful.

“What we don’t have is a mechanism to fund medium-sized projects,” he said. He pointed to the ongoing school greenhouse work and heating and air conditioning improvements as examples.

High school principal Sara Dingledy has said a stabilization fund is a more transparent way to prepare for unforeseen facilities issues rather than building contingency funds into other areas of the school budget.

Currently, excess revenue in the high school budget carries over from one year to the next in the form of excess and deficiency (E and D) funds. But school business administrator Amy Tierney said those funds fluctuate and cannot be relied upon year to year.

“Over the years, we’ve been piece-mealing together through E and D votes, and it’s not enough,” she said.

A yes vote at town meeting does not mean towns are putting money into the fund this year, but would authorize the school to create the fund for future use. Ms. Tierney said if the fund is created, towns will still have the last word on how much goes into it because each town has to approve the high school budget each year.

The proposal comes as discussion is underway for a significant overhaul of the high school. Vineyard schools superintendent Matthew D’Andrea will submit an application for the fourth time this year to the Massachusetts School Building Authority as plans get underway for major renovations. The state agency helps fund and organize school building and renovation projects. Last month, the high school committee voted to form a building committee and sent letters to selectmen in each town requesting participation.

Meanwhile, Ms. Tierney said there are still immediate facilities needs at the school.

“The pressure is on to do something with the building, but we need another mechanism of funding,” she said.