BYRON — Residents at town meeting Monday night unanimously voted down an article calling for the town’s withdrawal from RSU 10. But that doesn’t mean the matter is closed.

Selectman Anne Simmons-Edmunds said that although the board and most of the residents favor pulling out of the school district, too many questions must be answered first.

She said selectmen decided to form a committee within a week to explore pulling out of the district. “The interest is hugely there,” she said. “We have a ton of people interested in serving on the committee.”

She said the committee will likely be named at the selectmen’s meeting March 21, with the goal of getting all the questions answered by the end of this school year.

She said a special town meeting would be called soon after with a properly worded question that essentially would ask whether residents want to pull out and pay tuition for their children to attend private schools.

Town officials plan to talk with the Maine Municipal Association about hiring a lawyer knowledgeable about school matters. The town has several thousand dollars in a legal account that could be used toward withdrawal.

The town wants to pull out because of what residents believe are unreasonably high education costs, Simmons-Edmunds said.

She said the town paid $241,000 this year for the education of 24 children. She said the cost has risen by $45,000 during the past three years.

“We want RSU 10 to hear that we’re fed up,” she said.

During the four-hour annual town meeting, residents approved a 2012-13 operating budget of $138,379, up about $2,000 from the previous year. Most social service agencies received some or all of their requests. Townspeople also approved placing $1,000 into a bridge savings account and $1,000 into a capital equipment account.

Residents also elected a new selectman to replace Selectman Linda Gallant who chose not to run again. Electrical contractor David Noyes received 30 votes to challenger Kent Poole’s 9 votes.

Town Clerk Cindy Kelley ran unopposed for a one-year term. Former Town Clerk Allison Freeman ran unopposed for one-year terms as treasurer and tax collector.

Selectmen will meet at 6 p.m. March 21 in the Town Office.