The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School district committee failed Monday to muster the two thirds majority needed to certify the school’s $24.6 million budget for the coming year.

Committee members Skipper Manter and Robert Lionette objected to a $1.5 million line item for other post-employment benefits (OPEB), saying the school needs to begin setting aside larger amounts to fund its future liability for retiring employees.

“We have not been meeting our obligation,” Mr. Manter said. “We’ve done nothing but level fund. The hole is getting bigger and it’s embarrassing.”

Superintendent of schools Dr. Matthew D’Andrea argued that the district has an obligation to its students first.

“We cannot control . . . the number of students that arrive at our door every year, and we can’t control the level of need,” Mr. D’Andrea told the committee.

“We have these kids for four years and we’ve got to take care of them,” he said. “There are priorities . . . $1.5 million is a good amount.”

But Mr. Lionette disagreed.

“It’s highly problematic to me . . . $1.5 million is not effectively addressing that liability,” he said.

Committee chairman Amy Houghton said a member of the group could move to increase the contribution, increasing the budget bottom line.

“If we were to add $250,000 to the OPEB line, the budget would increase by that amount, and that would be something that each of our towns would have to stomach,” she said.

Vice chairman Kelly McCracken suggested the committee formulate an OPEB policy with the help of the school district’s actuary.

“She can Zoom in to a meeting and answer some questions,” Ms. McCracken said. “Everybody needs to understand it better, so when we’re talking about it, it doesn’t get contentious.

With a scheduled executive session looming half an hour after the public meeting began, Ms. Houghton called for a vote on the budget, and joined Mr. Manter, Mr. Lionette and Roxanne Ackerman in voting against certification.

The five other committee members voted in favor of the budget, falling short of the required supermajority.

The budget will again come before the committee at its Jan. 3 meeting, Ms. Houghton said.

Monday’s meeting began with the acknowledgment of a recent death in the high school community. Pierre Bonneau, who was a longtime French teacher, died unexpectedly on Sunday.

Ms. Houghton noted that Mr. Bonneau’s wife Lisa is also a teacher at the high school, from which all four of the couple’s children have graduated.

“Lisa, Wren, JoJo, Daniel and Nick, we know that your hearts are breaking,” Ms. Houghton said. “Our hearts are breaking with you. We’d like to support you any way we can.”

The committee observed a moment of silence in Mr. Bonneau’s honor before taking up the evening agenda.