The Islanders who donated money to Vashon Island School District’s recent fundraising campaign deserve a hearty thank-you. What an incredible outpouring of support for the establishments that work so tirelessly to educate our young people.

Those who organized and carried out the campaign have earned our gratitude as well.

Because of their efforts, the school district netted $446,000, money it is using to rescind layoff notices to valued teachers and staff members.

Next year, students at Vashon High School will be able to select from a rich array of electives that had been on the chopping block.

Students at McMurray will have smaller science classes than they would have otherwise.

Elementary schoolers at Chautauqua will be blessed with instruction from an art and music specialist. And there will be two half-day preschool offerings for the Island’s youngest students.

All this and more was slated to be axed to help the school district close a massive gap — a shortfall created not by any action of the school district, but by a reduction in governmental funding.

However, because of a dedicated group of Islanders who fundraised, convincing others — in person and through a phone-a-thon — to give to the district, the Vashon schools will continue to provide the varied quality education that has made them the pride of the community for years.

Vashon now has an opportunity to put even more money into the school district’s coffers, thanks to a Facebook contest sponsored by Chase Bank that will give cash prizes to the top vote-getting nonprofits on July 13.

Islanders can vote for “Vashon Island Schools Founda-tion” at http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/ until July 12, and winners will be announced the following day. The top 200 nonprofits will receive $20,000 or more from Chase. It takes only a few moments to vote, and the rewards could be tremendous — icing on the cake of a wildly successful fundraising drive.

So thank you, Vashon Island, for your support of our schools.

Without your financial contributions, the public schools here would have undergone a painful budgeting process, laying off appreciated and talented teachers because there just wasn’t enough money to go around. We can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing our favorites will be back for another year.