Just six weeks before the start of a new school year, principals at both the West Tisbury School and Chilmark School have announced they are quitting their jobs.

Letters of resignation from Elaine Pace and Carlos Colley forced the Up Island Regional school committee into an unscheduled meeting Friday to deal with the doubleheader of departures.

"It's fair to say this was unexpected," said Kathy Logue, chairman of the regional school board.

Debate Continues on Fair Share in Up-Island School Finances

By CHRIS BURRELL

Voters in West Tisbury will need more than a calculator to sort out the dispute raging up-Island over school costs.

Less than one week after Vineyard schools leaders unveiled financial scenarios showing that it would cost West Tisbury more than $600,000 in one year if it withdrew from the school region, the finance committee is busily crunching numbers and reaching an entirely different conclusion.

Up-Island Parents and Educators Ponder District's Shaky Prospects

CHRIS BURRELL

Spencer Booker lives in Aquinnah, and when it came time to decide where to send his three children for grade school, the choice was obvious. Proximity was key, so they chose the Chilmark School.

"It was geographical, the closest school to my house," he said. "And it's a great little school, very intimate, very supportive. All the teachers know all the students, first name and last. That's the kind of environment I want to put my kids into for their education."

Up-Island School Budget Jumps 15 Per Cent

By CHRIS BURRELL

Taxpayers in Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury will see the cost of educating schoolchildren rise sharply next year as the proposed budget for the Up-Island Regional School District goes from $5.9 million to more than $6.8 million, a 15 per cent increase.

The reasons are much the same as at the regional high school, where the budget will jump by almost 10 per cent next year. State aid is dropping, and the cost of insurance is climbing.