In response to the idea of a $100 donation from every household for the schools, I think it is a start, but not enough.

I have been a permanent substitute special ed aide for about a year. I have had my hours cut and just received notice that I still will not be hired as a permanent employee, only as a sub.

I currently have to hold down two jobs just to keep up financially. I do special ed, which I love doing, and in the evenings I am a cosmetologist doing hair.

I would like to be able to just work with the kids, but, with no benefits, the job barely covers my monthly medical premium, let alone being able to actually use my health plan that carries a $3,500 deductible.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel for me? Now I hear rumors that there will be a tax on services, which means rather than my little 5 percent price increase I was planning on implementing at the start of the new year, I will be collecting taxes and having to deal with that whole process, more work, and it will cost me more in the long run.

What can we do to take better care of the people that teach and take care of our children?

The schools are operating at bare-bones as it is, and I hear there are more cuts on the horizon. How can we stop this insanity? Our future depends on it. Kathleen Cappella Simi Valley