Salaries not frozen

Dear Editor,

The Star-Observer reported that the Hudson School District administration is asking all teachers to freeze their salaries for the next two years.

I read the article carefully, looking for the part where the district administration commits to freeze their own salaries for two years. Big surprise. It wasn’t in the article because the administration has not committed to freeze their own salaries at all, much less for two years.

The superintendent and her seven lieutenants made a combined $1,034,737 in salary and benefits this year. Plenty of room for a freeze there.

At the last Board of Education meeting I asked the board why the administration has not committed to freeze their salaries for two years. I received no answer from the board. But one board member defended the administration and said he was “really a bit offended” by my question.

Offended? So now it’s offensive for a citizen to ask a question at a School Board meeting.

What I find offensive is a management team that asks it employees to accept a negative impact to their compensation before that management team has committed to the same thing first.

It’s the School Board’s job to oversee the district administration. So I will keep asking the School Board why they are not addressing this issue. And if that offends the School Board members, that’s just too bad.

Tags: teachers salaries, opinion, letters