I found your editorial on Sept. 22 to be incredibly insulting to the hard-working teachers of Simi Valley.

To suggest our teachers are not doing the best and most profes- sional job possible demeans ev- ery classroom teacher. A 5.5 per- cent raise barely keeps up with the cost of living, given the price of gas, electricity, etc. The most insulting part of your editorial was: "But at the same time, we'll be watching closely to see if those better salaries lead to better results, or just better auto- mobiles in the staff parking lots." I noticed that when Ventura County sheriffs received a well- deserved 8 percent raise, you did not write an editorial saying you would be watching for a lower crime rate or to see if they were buying new cars. When the head of Exxon retired with a $474-million retirement package (enough to give every employee in the SVUSD a 474 percent raise), you did not write you would be watching closely to see if the price of gas dropped or if more oil would be found. I think in terms of the Acorn, everyone in Simi will be watch- ing to see if people are ever actu- ally willing to pay for the unique privilege of having your paper thrown in their driveways. Arleigh Kidd Executive Director, California Teachers Association for Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks