The Island is justifiably proud of its public schools, which consistently turn in impressive scores on standardized tests and turn out successful, well-rounded graduates. So too do the schools address the less advantaged, with solid programs for non-English-speaking students and strong support for children with special needs. With per pupil expenditures among the highest in the state, Vineyard schools are fortunate to have taxpayers who have been willing to invest in quality education.

But after several successive years of seeing budgets rise much faster than most paychecks, taxpayers might reasonably question whether every new expenditure is warranted.

The up-Island school committee this week unveiled a proposed new budget that would add $841,000 in new costs to operate the West Tisbury and Chilmark schools, which together enrolled just fifteen more students this year than last. The budget request figure represents an 8.4 per cent increase over last year’s budget, which was up almost eight per cent over the year before.

Included in the proposal is some $80,000 for a school resource officer, actually a police officer trained to provide security and a reassuring presence at schools. School-based policing, “the fastest growing area of law enforcement,” according to the National Association of School Resource Officers, arose in response to a spate of school shootings, including the horrific 2012 massacre in Newtown, Conn.

Earlier this year, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law designed to address gun violence in schools. That law, Chapter 284, directs school districts to appoint “subject to appropriation” at least one school resource officer in every town. That phrase in quotation marks puts the issue in voters hands.

The need to provide for the safety and security of our schoolchildren is unquestionable, and the notion of having local police officers as a regular and visible presence in our schools seems sensible.

We wonder, however, why this couldn’t be accomplished with existing resources. Couldn’t our police officers, who presumably are somewhat less taxed in the off season, include school visits as part of their beat?

Keeping top-notch schools must be a priority, but adding expense doesn’t always seem the best way.