I'm frustrated, as I'm sure many other are, by the recent "pink slips" issued to our teachers. Some teachers who have seniority shouldn't necessarily be excluded from potential job cuts. By basing job security solely on "time served," aren't we encouraging complacency?

What happened to performing one's job based upon job description and expectation? The success of an individual should be based upon merit and not solely on how many years they've been doing a job.

As a taxpayer and parent with direct interaction with teachers at my children's school, I'm outraged. Over the past five years of public schooling, we've come across amazing teachers, both "tenured" and not, who have enriched their students' education and equipped them far beyond what the state requires.

Likewise, there are those who have seniority, provide the state required material, serve their time but don't teach. When we discuss budget cuts, we need to take into account the long-term effects of our decisions. It's a sad commentary on the future of our society if we keep teachers who don't inspire, engage, challenge, encourage—and teach. Margaret Dutton Thousand Oaks