This is no time to raise salaries

This is no time to raise salaries

I am very much shaken by the article in the March 28 Vindicator identifying raises being given to some administration members of the Youngstown school district.

Merit raises are historically given when there are two elements in place:

There is money to provide the raises.

Performance is exemplary.

In our case, the district is still in academic watch. Mr. Beachum had outlined the elements to be addressed to ensure no return to fiscal emergency. We do not know yet if the district can remain fiscally solvent and academically viable.

Having been actively involved in the review of the district’s fiscal policies and performance as a concerned citizen, I have no wish to see us return to that deplorable state. Spending like a drunken sailor is what put us in fiscal emergency in the first place. No known occupation, other than banking, would allow any increases in pay for employees while viability is at issue. Why are we?

The bargaining unit of the school district had raises withheld for a period. It demonstrated a strong willingness to assist the district in relieving the problem and supported a return to solvency.

Why are we now granting raises to administration staff currently making two to three times more than the median income of this city? Do our city government officials make this much?

After these nearly $4,000 salary increases are granted, there will be absolutely no justification for a property tax levy.

Delores T. Womack, Youngstown