Teachers aren't low-hanging fruit
Someone should point out to Elgin Area School District U46 Superintendent Jose Torres that his recent analogy was offensive and elitist. In bemoaning the need to cut huge numbers of teachers and staff once again this year, he chose the wrong time to be creative.
He referred quite cavalierly to those cut a year ago as "low-hanging fruit," rather than the dedicated professional people they are. While the deficit he is addressing is serious and not entirely of his creation, his word choice and the thought behind it is all his.
Supt. Torres, these people educated themselves and dedicated themselves to the youth of your community. If cuts are necessary, anyone with the good fortune to keep his or her job should speak far more gently and with much more compassion than you did. I gave my professional life to teaching, not in Elgin. I worked hard for 38 years, and sometimes I heard overpaid superintendents speak offhandedly about the work teachers do. It hurts to hear that.
Your school district never had teachers that we so easily "harvested" as low-hanging fruit. It does have a superintendent who speaks offhandedly and hardheartedly about the staff. I hope when you cash your next check you think about the lives of the people you so calmly dismiss.
Rick Beato
Bloomingdale