Dear Editor,

John was an ambitious man and had great plans for his future. Last year he made $200,000 from his job and this year he anticipated making $250,000. However, when John completed his yearly employment review, he was informed that this year's salary would be only $220,000.

When he got home that night, John called his family together. "I'm sorry to inform you that this year our family is facing a $30,000 cut in our budget," he told his family, "And we are going to have to make some severe cuts to get by."

His family looked grim as he listed the proposed cuts. Dinner would be soup three days a week. Dining out would be cut to one time a month. His wife, Sally, would have to stop going to a hairdresser. His kids, Dick and Jane, would have to take their lunches to school in a bag instead of eating in the cafeteria. They would have to sell the family dog on eBay.

John's job? School superintendent.

Ed Riffle

Grand Teton Drive

Editor's note: Milpitas Unified School District Superintendent Karl Black is paid $207,104 annually.