Educators who have been in the Hawaii Department of Education system long enough are aware of the top-heavy bureaucracy in which taxpayer money is squandered on unnecessary positions and wasteful initiatives. Classroom teachers and support staff who work with and for our kids are at the woeful end of a feeding trough. They are the ones who truly work their butts off and are not compensated accordingly.

I feel sad and angry when my daughter mentions getting a part-time job to supplement her teacher salary, like many of her dedicated colleagues have done.

There may be little need for our state to raise taxes or look for other viable sources of revenue to give teachers the pay they deserve, if politically unconnected agencies get involved to trim the excess fat from the bloated DOE.

Tess Pereira

Kuliouou

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