Politics are amazingly personal on an Island like Vashon, where so many people know each other. And thus, it’s with some sadness that we see three committed school board members lose their seats — board members who not only wanted to contribute to the Island again but who were also hard-working and, at times, courageous in their effort to do what they believed was right.

These people are not simply civic volunteers who either received our check mark or didn’t when we cast our ballots last week. Many of us also count them as neighbors, colleagues or friends.

At the same time, the three new board members — one veteran to school board politics, Dan Chasan, and two who are new to this particular brand of Island politics, Kathy Jones and Laura Wishik — will very likely help the school district’s teachers, its administrators and the many parents and students who are passionate about our schools get a painful chapter behind us. And that fresh start is likely what the district needs to move forward on the many important issues before it.

With the departure of three incumbents, the school board will lose a lot of talent and institutional memory. These new members, particularly Jones and Wishik, will need to learn quickly. But just like the incumbents they defeated, they’re bright people who appear to be deeply committed to public education and the critical role that universal education plays in a democracy. We have every confidence that they’ll find their way quickly through the district’s maze of spreadsheets, budgets and programs.

We wish them well. And we thank the outgoing members — Susan Lofland, Gene Lipitz and Jake Jacobovitch — for their years of hard work. Vashon is remarkably fortunate to have had their service, and we’re lucky to have such promising replacements.