West Tisbury residents voted to pay their portion of the regional high school budget at a special town meeting Tuesday marked by a struggle to achieve a quorum.

Voters overwhelmingly passed the town’s $3.3 million share of the budget, but only after a false start to the meeting.

Moderator Daniel Waters initially called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m., before town clerk Tara Whiting-Wells informed him that they were six-voters short of the necessary quorum of 138, prompting gasps from the crowd.

“Everybody, call a friend,” Mr. Waters said.

Slowly, additional voters began to trickle in. At 7:35 p.m. quorum was finally achieved, and the crowd applauded. The total number present that evening reached 159.

“Okay, let’s get started again,” Mr. Waters said, calling the meeting to order. Voters swiftly approved a $13,250 to the town reserve fund, before turning to the high school budget.

West Tisbury was the first town to vote down the budget at their annual meeting in April, casting their vote in protest of ongoing litigation between the school and the Oak Bluffs planning board over an artificial turf field on campus. Chilmark and Aquinnah soon followed, sending the budget back to the school committee.

Chilmark became the fourth town to approve the budget at a special town meeting last week, the deciding vote needed for it to be approved. West Tisbury and Aquinnah are now obligated to pay their portion, however the towns must still appropriate those funds at town meetings.

West Tisbury resident Nelia Decker did propose nonbinding resolutions on town meeting floor, asking the school committee to not accept anonymous donations above $5,000 dollars for the turf project, and asking them to commit to an all-grass campus.

Two similar non-binding resolutions were approved at the Chilmark town meeting last week, but weren’t on the West Tisbury warrant Tuesday, creating parliamentary problems.

“As the moderator, I’m pretty much forced to rule the amendment out of scope,” Mr. Waters said, instead suggesting that Ms. Decker motion for a “sense of the meeting” resolution. The resolutions were essentially a poll of those present in the room, but not official declarations from the town.

Both garnered majority support from the town meeting attendees.

The town also voted to appropriate $2,250 to pay an overdue bill for portable bathrooms.