The residents of the Donner Summit support all the teachers of the
TTEA and recognize the value of their contribution to our community.
The teachers at all levels in the TTUSD are the critical component to
our children's education. As the cost of living in our region
continues to outpace the state average, it is deplorable that in a
region with a strong tax base, our teachers are not at salary parity
with other districts within our state. The school board must develop
a strategic plan to guarantee future funding for the highest caliber
of teacher.

We implore the School Board to explore alternative strategies to
finding funds to pay the high quality teachers we currently employ and
to provide the wages necessary to make it possible for new teachers to
join our district and live in our high-cost area. The school board
has failed to plan for the future, and there is no reason why our
teachers should bear the brunt of this failure. We all know the cost
of a strike, both to our children and to the district's coffers, is
much higher than a reasonable compromise.

The community of Donner Summit wants to extend our hand in support of
all the teachers of the entire district and help spread the enthusiasm
that helped save Donner Trail school. We believe that the school
board should apply the same logical thought processes and forward
thinking that was part of the decision to delay closure of Donner
Trail toward finding a solution to the negotiations with the teacher's
union. All involved know that we must find a way to reward our
teachers with the respect they deeply deserve.