It’s right that the Vashon Island School District pay its teachers more. Public education is the bedrock of a democracy, and the quality of our teachers matters enormously. Higher salaries, as union activist and Vashon High School teacher Martha Woodard notes, will help retain quality teachers on an island where the cost of living is high.

Our teachers deserve to be paid decently. There’s no question about it.

At the same time, we’re concerned about the fact that the district is having to dip into its reserves to balance its $16.3 million spending plan. The school board has worked hard to create a healthy reserve fund after a disastrous situation several years ago, when the district was on the brink of bankruptcy. This increase in teacher pay — contained in a new three-year contract slated to be voted on Thursday night ­— won’t add to the amount the district has to borrow from its reserves this year, thanks in part to an unexpected increase in the number of off-island students. But it does put pressure on the budget, committing the district to built-in obligations over the next few years. We urge the district administrators to be careful. They could find themselves on a slippery slope.

That said, Woodard — a fierce advocate for a more progressive tax structure — is right when she says the state’s failure to adequately fund education shouldn’t be borne on the backs of teachers. Or para-educators, librarians or school nurses, for that matter. The problem resides in Olympia, where lawmakers have long been unwilling to confront a flawed funding formula that has put the state’s public schools near the bottom of the heap when it comes to education funding.

The state recently received an “F” from Education Week, an independent news source, in its nationwide analysis of education funding. The Evergreen State, home to a remarkable software industry, progressive politicians and an educated populace, ranked 42nd in per-pupil spending and 44th in state expenditures as a percent of state taxable resources.

Classroom size continues to be an issue in districts across the state. And according to the Washington Education Association, teacher salaries in Washington are not nearly as high as those in other parts of the country. The statewide teachers lobby says the average teacher salary is a little over $52,000, 4.8 percent below the national average.

So yes, teachers need to be paid better. Olympia needs to address a flawed tax structure that continues to result in an underfunded public school system. The public needs to continue to do all it can to support public education. And here on Vashon, school district administrators need to be careful that they don’t put the district on an unsustainable path.