This week, islanders will receive their ballots and begin voting on a four-year levy for the Vashon Island School District.

The levy is a renewal of the expiring Educational Programs and Operations Levy, not a new tax, and we strongly encourage islanders to vote “yes” by the Feb. 13 deadline.

School district officials have been clear in their need for this levy, which provides nearly 20 percent of the district’s operating budget. It supports a wide variety of important services and programs at the district, from special education requirements; to training and professional development of staff; to arts, music and extracurricular programs. The district is asking for approximately $4.6 million for the next school year, with increases of 5 percent for the remaining three years of the levy.

Without those funds, the Vashon Island School District would suffer.

Currently, school funding is a complicated picture in Washington. Legislators in Olympia are still working out issues related to the famed McCleary Decision — which mandated that the state fully fund basic education at public schools — and the state budget passed last June, which raised property taxes to meet that mandate. On Vashon, district officials are clear: They intend to keep offering island students education that goes “beyond basic” so that when students graduate, they are fully prepared for the future. Board members have addressed some of the funding uncertainties coming from Olympia and promised if the state provides more money for schools, the district will ask for less money from community members.

When islanders consider their vote, we encourage them not to be swayed by the “Statement in opposition” in the voters’ pamphlet. Simply put, the author has some of his facts wrong.

He states that the district “lavished itself with enrichment in the last four decades, leading to considerable growth on the island in recent years.” But government numbers tell a different story.

In the last U.S. Census, conducted in 2010, Vashon’s population was 10,624. In contrast, Washington state’s Office of Financial Management estimates that Vashon’s population in 2017 was 10,881. That increase is less than 300 people — and far from the “cramming” of Vashon the author cautions against. Moreover, the schools are not straining at the seams with an influx of new students. According to the state’s Office of Public Instruction, enrollment of the Vashon Island School District was 1,545 in May 2010 and 1,602 in May 2017. That’s an increase of 57 kids or about eight more students annually. If we account for the increase in off-island students, we see the number of island youth attending our local schools has actually decreased in this time.

The choice is clear. Quality public schools are important to students and the broader community. Currently, this levy is necessary to provide them. Vote “yes” when your ballot comes.