When I read the article and learned about this, I was upset. To think that the taxpayer's money was being spent unwisely is appalling to me. Some BOE members are getting enormous pay rises, as much as $20,000, where the teachers only got as much as a 3% raise. The teachers work so hard. Not only do they teach and encourage students, they plan, grade, and create things for students to benefit their education. Teachers also go to extraordinary lengths trying to further our education and 24/7. Speaking from a student's point of view, I have seen my own teachers spend their time and money planning, grading, and purchasing tools for the classroom. They do this selflessly to help us reach our potential. They scrape their money together and try to make that certain class a wonderful learning experience.

This bothers me because the teachers work tremendously hard and deserves a better pay increase, because they do so much for the community. Obviously, there is money available to help the education system because levies have been passed and grants have been fulfilled, so the question is not about where to get the resources. However, when BOE members, who work a nine to five job, get enormous pay increases for, in my eyes, the wrong reasons, should make the public think about our financial problems. If a pay raise is out of the question, the BOE should manage the money properly, giving the educators some money to work with so it can help the classroom.

I hope that the BOE and many other concerned citizens, who pay thousands of tax dollars to help the school system, are aware of this situation and take charge for what's right before it's too late. Since the levy is coming next month, citizens should think about how their money is spent and teach the BOE a lesson.