An astute reader pointed out that a careful look of the Vashon Island School District’s budget suggests a different picture than the one the district is painting. Revenues have stayed about the same, a Powerpoint slide show on the district’s Web site indicates. The problem, this reader pointed out, is that expenses have climbed by about $1 million — taking the district from a $13 million spending plan this year to one that logs in at $14 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

We spent some time with Michael Soltman, the district’s superintendent, trying to understand the reason for this. It’s complex and nuanced, but after a long session with him, we ended up back at our beginning position: The district is hurting, and not because of run-away spending.

The growth in expenses is due in part to a few things the district can’t control — higher insurance costs, salary raises built into various labor union contracts, a growth in retirement contributions due to teachers’ increased years in the district. There’s an upward pressure on the budget, year after year.

What’s more, the growth is not as high as it looks, Soltman said; there’s an increase in preventative maintenance expenses, for instance, because of a levy voters passed approving such expenditures.

At the same time, revenue from public sources has not kept pace, he said. All of us on Vashon will be paying more in taxes to the school district, due to the lifting of the so-called levy lid. But state and federal support has fallen. The state, for instance, has not kept pace with the state-mandated step increases in teachers’ salaries.

Last year, Soltman added, the state back-filled with so-called stimulus funds — money that’s no longer available, he said.

The district isn’t perfect; it’s large and cumbersome, a bureaucracy with inefficiencies built into it. What’s more, some of the top salaries have climbed with new hires. The new Chautauqua principal makes slightly more than the one who’s retiring; Soltman makes more than his predecessor, Terry Lindquist.

But these are small pressures on the budget. And for the most part, the district is remarkably lean. Visit the district headquarters in Chautauqua Elementary School, and you get a taste for just how lean it is: Soltman doesn’t have a private office, just a corner cubby.

The community turned out in fine fashion last week in a show of support for our public schools. Spirits were high at the PTSA Auction, held at the Open Space for Arts & Community, a cavernous building that was transformed by an auction team that outdid itself. Bidding was brisk, and the results were impressive: It appears that the auction was one of the PTSA’s most successful, grossing $117,000 with minimal expenses.

We trust the PTSA and the district will work together to see that the funds raised will go where the needs are greatest. And we trust that this community will continue to ask hard questions, engage in the district’s public process on the budget and step up to support our schools.