It was a difficult decision, but it was the right one.

Jim Shank, superintendent of the Coupeville School District, and the school board decided that Larry Walsh will not be retained as principal of the high school and middle school in the face of declining enrollment necessitating staff cuts.

Shank will take on the added responsibility of being principal.

The decision sends a powerful message about the importance of classroom teachers, as opposed to administrators, at a time of so much focus on education.

Teachers across the state are rightfully demanding better pay and lower class sizes as state lawmakers fail to abide by the state constitution — and the state Supreme Court’s demand — to fully fund basic education.

Because state funds are tied to enrollment, schools like Coupeville are forced into the painful position of having to make cuts.

The district needed to cut 4.5 positions beginning this fall to balance the budget. Fortunately, retirements, relocations and reorganization will account for all of those cuts except for Walsh’s employment.

It’s still a loss of teachers in classrooms, but it would have been worse if Shank wasn’t willing to double his workload.

Walsh had just started at Coupeville this school year, but the school board ultimately decided to make the reduction in administration rather than make a staffing decision that would adversely affect the classroom.

It was the right decision.

Enrollment in Coupeville has been on a troubling decline since 2004, when 1,128 students went to the school.

As of the end of April, enrollment had dropped to just 858.

The reasons for the drop in enrollments isn’t crystal clear, but questionnaires from departing families have pointed to a lack of job opportunities in the community.

Which creates an untenable situation in which communities with a lack of opportunities beget schools that lack proper funding.

Hopefully a rebounding economy and an anticipated increase in personnel at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station will bring more students to the district sometime soon.

In the meantime, Coupeville schools will forge ahead with a superintendent needing to lace up a pair of track shoes to cover school grounds.