I continue to read letters from people who argue that we are getting the services of Moore County Schools Superintendent Pat Russo at a bargain price.

How can intelligent individuals make this statement without knowing the actual total cost associated with keeping Russo in Moore County? Are they suggesting that Russo is indispensable and it is imperative, no matter the cost, that we keep Russo in order to establish and maintain a quality school system? Hogwash!

Would someone please provide us with the total cost to taxpayers for Russo’s efforts? Include salary from the state and Moore County, health insurance, pension provisions, auto allowances, travel and spending allowances, etc. Maybe the accountable, accessible, responsible, and honorable Russo himself will inform us of this cost.

Additionally, Russo is not an educator as Mr. Edsel and Mr. Bettiol suggested in their misguided letters. He is a school administrator. The teachers, those underpaid and overworked individuals who spend countless unappreciated hours in and out of the classroom with our children, are the educators. The teachers, the heart and soul of our school system, are the determining factor in the quality of a Moore County education. Our elected school board is responsible for setting the vision. Russo the administrator is just that, the administrator.

I suggest that we underpay and overwork Russo to see if he displays the same integrity and loyalty as our county educators.

Joseph Stout