I was surprised by John Sage’s letter in last week’s Beachcomber (“Prop. 1 vote represents community disconnect,” Feb. 17). I know John, and he is a decent and caring man. Thinking the school bond failed because wealthy people living here don’t care about schools and voted it down is totally mistaken in my view. Wealthy people would be far better at absorbing a small raise in their property taxes, so that isn’t really an issue for them. Retirees on fixed incomes are traditionally the naysayers on all bond and levy issues that would raise taxes.

The far more important question to be asking him is who he thinks is giving that $500,000 a year to the Vashon Schools Foundation? Who are the generous donors of the island keeping our social services functioning? Who puts out the big checks for everything from drug education, elder care, arts and music, local farmers, help for our seniors, etc.? We all give, of course. But the people who can make the most difference, and do, are the folks who have more wealth and are generous about sharing it with our community. They have their kids in our schools and are major players in most of the good that happens on the island. I appreciate and salute those folks.

Yes, we are gentrifying, and the cost of living here, especially the cost of housing, is a serious issue for our workforce and retirees, but slamming the wealthy is totally misplaced. There were reasons the bond failed, and they had to do with poor communication and unanswered questions. The school board is working on getting information from people and will probably do a better job next time around.

— Emma Amiad