Those of us who pay close attention to the school board and watched its careful crafting of the bond measure that just went down to defeat noted this: To a large degree, these five elected Islanders tried hard to garner the input of their constituents every step of the way.

Their process was transparent. It was open. It was time-consuming — sometimes excruciatingly so.

So how did we end up with a bond measure that Islanders rejected so decisively — the first such defeat in nearly three decades?

We believe two things went amiss in this process. First, the economy tanked right around the time board members were putting the final polish on a measure some of them had spent more than four years crafting. By that time, the majority of the board was deeply invested in the proposal, and turning the ship at that point would have been difficult even for the nimblest among them.

And second, despite the board’s attempt at inclusivity, many voices weren’t heard in the process. That’s not completely the board’s fault. It reached out. But those who chose to enter the fray — as is the case in most elections — were those with the biggest stake in the outcome: Educators, parents of young children, sports enthusiasts.

Lost in the shuffle — until the final weeks — ­were the voices of retirees, Islanders on limited incomes, people who feared they were about to lose their jobs, people who had just lost their jobs — a silent majority, it turned out, who couldn’t quite swallow a $75.5 million price tag.

The board — one of the hardest-working groups of volunteers on the Island — is now about to go back at it. As it does so, it’s incumbent on the rest of us to participate in the process. Indeed — and thankfully so — in a democracy it’s a two-way street. Yes, our elected officials need to listen. But for them to listen, we need to speak up.

As the board dives back in, we need to support them, our students, our teachers and the messy process of democracy: We need to let them know what we think. Only then can the board deliver up a winning proposal to rebuild a high school that is in very sorry shape.