After attending a meeting at Chautauqua Elementary School on Dec. 7 in which it was disclosed that the Vashon School District budget projections for the upcoming year look poor, I am left with a couple of questions about off-Island students.

According to the vashonsd.org website, our current 2010-2011 budget for operations is $15 million excluding capitol improvements, transportation, debt service and ASB expenses. This general fund supports 1,500 students, an approximate annual cost of $10,000 per student. The website indicates that each off-Island student brings contributions of $5,200, apparently in state funds. I’ve been out of school a long time, and my math is a little fuzzy, but this seems like an expense to Vashon rather than a benefit.

The Vashon Schools website indicates that this $5,200 goes to “the bottom line” of the budget. Somehow I feel that having 150 children ride the bus to school, hang out all day and go home again requires some small expense from the school. Are we simply looking at the revenue from transfer students without asking about the cost?

— Charles Green