My husband and I spent 30 years moving at least every two years during his military career. Our children attended some of the best (Coronado, Calif., and Fairfax, Va.) schools in the country.

Unfortunately, they also had their share of very poor schools. So we consider ourselves able to judge whether a school district is poorly run or well run.

We are very impressed with Coupeville’s schools. For the past 15 years, we have watched Coupeville children grow up, graduate and either go on to universities or join the workplace. It seems to us that they are a considerable cut above the average.

As a result, my husband volunteered to be a Learning Partner. Every week he comes home full of enthusiasm for the kids and their curriculum. He doesn’t hand our praise lavishly, so when he says “they’re doing it right,” you can believe it!

A very important reason Coupeville schools can do it right is the fact that the people who live here financially support the system. Property owners in Coupeville realize it takes money to run a successful school district.

In 1998 voters in the Coupeville School District approved a small levy. That levy has expired. But it needs to be renewed to keep the quality of Coupeville’s schools at the present high levels.

Over the next five years, the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed property value remains the same modest $1.45 for three of the years, plunges to $1.42 per thousand in 2004 and soars to $1.48 per thousand dollars in 2005. Coupeville’s tax rate is the lowest of the 23 other school districts in Island, Skagit and Snohomish counties.

Please read the insert in your local newspapers for details about how the levy funds will be used. When we compare how small this levy is with the great things we see happening at Coupeville schools, we consider it an honor to vote for the levy Feb. 5. We’ll ask everybody we know to vote yes, too.

Carol and Ham Byng live in Coupeville.