Kudos to Dist. 203 for skipping raises

In these difficult times of compounding bad news, it was incredibly heartening to read of the selfless act of sacrifice and support for students and their needs on the part of the members of the Naperville District 203 Education Association.

As their contract was expiring, these teachers opted to freeze their salaries for next year to provide their district the opportunity to use every available resource in the current economic climate to maintain programs for the students. In this time of bailouts and outrageous bonuses for business executives, the members of this school community came together to contribute to solutions to their own problems.

As we have been often reminded in our current circumstances, no one is immune from the impact of this depressed economy including thousands of teachers who have seen their jobs eliminated in recent months. It is certainly worse in our state given the poor management of our state's resources and the loss of state funding.

It is my hope that the Naperville community will come to appreciate the unique gesture made by the teachers of their schools whose families are impacted by the recession along with other citizens of our county. The high quality of the professional work and the dedication of these educators has given the community a school system to be proud of.

Their most recent actions underscore that commitment to the children of Naperville District 203.

Pamela Zimmermann

Wheaton