Dear CUSD Board Member,

 I am writing you on behalf of the teachers in the Cupertino Union School District.  There is a reason why the test scores in Cupertino are so high:  it is because of the teachers.  There is a reason the housing market continues to stay strong in Cupertino:  it is because of the teachers.  There is a reason why parents try to send their children to CUSD:  it is because of the teachers. 

I understand that COLA is needed for many things besides teacher salaries, but why is it that other districts in Santa Clara County, Districts that do not have the growing student numbers like we do, give their teachers salary and health and welfare increases and we cannot find anything for our teachers?

I understand that the California state budget faces issues for next year and that it will impact education.  I understand how CUSD is concerned about its own budget, but what I do not understand is how a school district that is supposed to be dedicated to education cannot find a settlement with its own teachers' association.  I do not understand how CUSD can balance its budget on the backs of its teachers.  We should be fighting the Governor and the Federal Government, instead, we are fighting one another.  Where is the leadership in this time of crisis?  

Teachers should be doing what they do best, educating our children.  When you as a member of the school board fail to recognize that teachers are the most important component in education it forces teachers to divert their attention away from the classroom.

I am but one community member in the Cupertino Union School District but I am sure I am not alone in asking you to work with the teachers in CUSD and treat them fairly.  They have compromised on many of their own issues in an attempt to make a settlement, why can't you? 

Sincerely,