Once again, the citizens of Mercer Island have overwhelmingly shown their support for our children and the value we place in education by approving all three school levies in the Feb. 9 election. On behalf of the Committee for Mercer Island Public Schools (CMIPS), I’d like to thank voters for their yes votes and commend them on their steadfast support for our schools in spite of our troubling economic environment. These levies will go a long way to ensure the continued excellence of Mercer Island schools.

I’d also like to publicly recognize the CMIPS volunteers who tirelessly worked over the last three months to educate our community about the school levies and promote their approval. These citizens devoted countless hours to the campaign, sacrificing their own personal time to better our community. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude for this effort. Thank you, CMIPS volunteers!

I wish I could say that our school district’s finances are now assured. Unfortunately, further state budget cuts are expected in the near future. As a community we will once again need to step up to this challenge. I look forward to seeing all of you at the Mercer Island Schools Foundation Breakfast of Champions on April 27 to celebrate our community’s support for schools.

Michael Dickstein, Chair

Committee for Mercer Island Public Schools, CMIPS