The West Tisbury selectmen have formed a task force to broadly evaluate the Up-Island Regional School District, but district committee members say they will not participate.

“What you’re doing with this task force is the process the school committee goes through, which says to me you don’t trust us,” said committee chairman Dan Cabot at a meeting of the committee Thursday night that was attended by the West Tisbury selectmen.

The school district includes the three up-Island towns and two elementary schools, one in Chilmark (K through five), the other in West Tisbury (K through eight).

Tension between the regional school committee and other town leaders was evident at the West Tisbury annual town meeting this year when the selectmen backed a move by the finance committee to cut more than $200,000 from the town’s share of the up-Island budget for the coming year, among other things citing district-wide per-pupil spending that has grown sky-high. Voters rejected the cut, leaving the $8.5 million school budget intact, but selectmen said later they would form a task force to examine cost efficiencies in the school district.

On Thursday night when it came time to talk about the task force, lingering hard feelings erupted.

“There was no debrief post town meeting . . . and I felt you ganged up on us in essence against the budget,” said school committee member Michael Marcus. “I don’t know if that’s just a shot across the bow to get our attention?” he said.

“I think that’s exactly what it was,” replied selectman Cynthia Mitchell.

Mr. Cabot suggested the task force be used to better understand how the school budget is created.

Selectmen want the task force to examine educational goals, analyze budget scenarios, conduct staff and parent surveys and possibly recommend changes to the regional agreement.

The all-West Tisbury task force is to be made up of the town accountant, one selectman, one finance committee member and one school committee member. Perry Ambulos, a member of the up-Island district committee from Chilmark, pointed out the obvious.

“I don’t’ see anybody from Chilmark on it,” Mr. Ambulos said. “I think you have some fences to mend.”

Ms. Mitchell said she welcomed the participation of others on the task force. And she stood her ground on the need for the study.

“If this pattern continues of . . . being higher and higher year after year, it could become unsustainable, so it’s my job as a selectman to look at the entire budget. I am accountable to the voters, we all are,” Mrs. Mitchell said.

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said he welcomes anything that can steer the committee and its member towns onto common ground.

“I think the process we have now between the school committee, the finance committee and the selectmen is a negative process,” Mr. Weiss said. “If this is a way to turn that around and make it a positive process, I think it is a really good step in the right direction.”

“I will say in the six years I’ve been to the West Tisbury financial committee, I have heard the same complaints and the same issues,” he continued. “No matter what we say or do, frankly, that hasn’t changed. If this will do that, it’s worth doing.”