With approval in hand from all but one Vineyard town, Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss was all set to move ahead on a plan to relocate the superintendent’s headquarters when Chilmark selectmen grabbed his arm going out the door.

Mr. Weiss’s goal to lease or sell the current Pine street headquarters depends on petitioning the state for permission. First he needs the vote of approval from each town. He secured votes at annual town meetings in the spring from all towns expect Chilmark, where selectmen left the question off the warrant, on the grounds that there was not enough information accompanying the request.

Mr. Weiss has put forward two possibilities — to lease out the old Edgartown school, and share the space with an Island drama organization or to construct a new building at the high school.

But as of yet he has provided scant details on either proposal, arguing that a preliminary vote is required from the towns before any serious planning to relocate could be done.

The superintendent attended a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday hoping to get the question on the warrant for a Chilmark special town meeting in the fall.

“Where we’re now is inappropriate, we need somewhere with confidential space that is handicapped accessible. We’re not sure if we want to go to the high school or the [old] Edgartown school. Our goal is to get permission to begin the process. We’d come back before we spend a dime,” he told the board.

But the selectman pushed Mr. Weiss for a clearer indication of where the office would look to relocate.

“When we didn’t put this on the warrant last time, we wanted to hear more about the plan,” said selectman Frank Fenner. “In the corporate experience I have had, anything that is not written down did not happen. I’d like to see a written process, to see where the money is going to go.”

He had specific concerns about the Edgartown proposal.

“Of all the budgets, yours is the least understandable, and it goes up in huge increments,” Mr. Fenner said. The Edgartown space is far larger than Pine street which means higher maintenance costs and an operation and workforce that would expand to fit, he argued. “If you build it they will come,” he said.

Selectman Warren Doty also pushed for more details.

“The use of the old Edgartown school would be appropriate for administrative offices; it’s a fine old brick building and I understand that Edgartown has tentatively accepted,” he said, “but would the uses of a drama performance space and the superintendent’s office work together?”

Mr. Weiss said the drama organization would be renting the cafeteria space, and would be generally performing outside of office hours.

“It should be fine,” he said, “but that’s why we have two options.”

Selectman and board chairman J.B. Riggs Parker said more planning should be done up front.

“We’d like a business plan with a pro forma cost and projection for maintaining the facility versus what you’ve been paying,” he told him, “I think we’re getting there but you need to force the superintendent’s office to think about some of these things.”