CUMMINGTON — Voters expressed their deep frustration with the Central Berkshire Regional School District, once again rejecting the district’s proposed education budget, at Friday night’s annual Town Meeting.

The Community House was full as 87 of the town’s 643 registered voters unanimously amended the town’s $986,553 school and library budget by subtracting the $789,800 requested by the regional school district, leaving a total of $196,753 for vocational school and library expenses.

This reduced the town’s proposed fiscal 2020 budget from $2,352,633 to $1,562,833.

The town is currently trying to withdraw from the district and many residents and town officials have expressed great disappointment that the negotiation process seems to have stalled.

“Two-thirds of our kids are already attending schools outside the district,” Josh Wachtell, a member of the Cummington Education Committee, said. “We are just feeling like we are not getting the service for these kids and the district isn’t meeting their needs.”

If all the six other towns in the regional school district — Becket, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Washington and Windsor — approve their requested budgets, Cummington will have to pay its share, as it has had to do in the last four years after first rejecting the Central Berkshire Regional budget.

Voters also spent a large part of the three-hour meeting discussing two proposals that would provide stipends to certain public safety personnel.

The Select Board recommended $5,000 for the fire chief, $5,000 for the police chief, $1,000 for the emergency management director, and $12,000 for call firefighters, to be paid at a rate of $14 an hour when they are training or out on a call.

The Finance Committee recommended stipends in the amounts of $10,000 for the fire chief, $15,000 for the police chief, $5,000 for the emergency management director.

Finance Committee Chairman Dennis Forgea said the proposal did not address firefighters at this point as Fire Chief Adam Dragon has requested time to put a fair and equitable compensation system into place with input from all members of his department.

“Even if we go with the what the Finance Committee is proposing, we are still paying them a lot less then what they are worth,” Finance Committee member Maureen Tumenas said. “I think it is insulting what the Select Board is proposing.”

Voters passed the stipend proposal as recommended by the finance committee by a large majority.

They also unanimously approved $38,500 for a three-quarter-ton pick up truck with a plow to replace a 1988 Chevy truck, $10,000 for the restoration of cemetery stones, $3,000 for four bulletproof vests for the Police Department, and $4,000 for two sets of turn-out gear for the Fire Department.

A non-binding resolution in support of HD.2968 and SD.1495, a resolution “providing for the creation of a Special Commission relative to the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth,” also passed 47 to 11.