In the Sept. 22 issue of the Simi Valley Acorn you ran an editorial about the teachers' raise in the Simi district. This was a disappointing ar- ticle at best and you and your staff should publicly apologize to the Simi teachers.

As a veteran teacher and recent new hire in the district as well as a parent with children in the district, I observe that these teachers earn their pay every day and then some. You state that this year the dis- trict earned an 800 on the API, but you failed to indicate that the teach- ers in the district earned this 800 score because of better instruction. In the past few years since the API has been used, many schools in the Simi district have risen four years straight. The teachers made that happen, not their paychecks.

Their dedication to children, quality instruction and accountabil- ity is immeasurable. They spend their own money to supplement the instructional program and give their own time after school and week- ends to make school a more inter- esting and exciting place.

Your meager attempt to applaud the school board and say "we de- served it" pales in comparison to the insensitive comment about "au- tomobiles in the parking lot."

This raise will help teachers keep pace with their contemporar- ies who earn twice as much money in positions that require similar lev- els of graduate education. Teachers will use this raise to keep pace with the rising costs of daily living as well as the rising costs of buying

supplies for the classroom, since the state has continually cut the budget for the basic student needs. The next time you decide to judge whether a

professional "deserves" a raise or not do some homework. Ruth Ellis, teacher Simi Valley