To the editor:
The point Sharon Needham was making in response to
was apparently missed.
that she is a senior on Social Security and received a 1.7-percent cost-of-living increase compared to a 2.4-percent salary increase for Mehlville teachers. It’s obvious the teachers got more than a cost-of living increase on a salary that is at least double or more than that compared to a Social Security recipient’s benefit.
Food and medical costs are proportionally a much greater percentage of the Social Security income than that of a teacher’s salary. If you did any grocery shopping or paid for health-related services this past year — including insurance — you know that food and medical expenses increased significantly. So in comparison, there is a significant difference in remaining funds to cover all other living expenses.
To cover those expenses, Sharon is saying she has to cut her spending and make adjustments. I would say the point was that it is not very frugal to grant salary increases if Mehlville School District is projecting a budget deficit for 2015. Gerald did not make any counter to this point with facts.
He only used “imaginative” scenarios.
I do not begrudge anyone an increase in salary. However, the taxpayers who are funding the Mehlville School District need to be taken into consideration. Perhaps limiting the salary increase to cost-of-living and finding areas to cut expenses would have been more reasonable and frugal.