Editor:
 In a recent letter to the editor, Town Councilor Mary Ann Lynch questioned my motives for resigning my teaching job at Cape Elizabeth High School. Mrs. Lynch is correct in saying that I didn’t decide to end my 12-year career at CEHS entirely because of budget cuts, as the recent Sentry article implied. My daughter is moving to California, and in the process of touring West Coast schools with her, she and I both decided to embark on new adventures. I regret if my words to the town council implied that budget cuts are my sole reason for moving on, and I deeply regret any implication that I have anything, but respect and affection, both for CEHS and for the town of Cape Elizabeth. It has been a wonderful place to teach, live and raise my daughter.
 However, it is equally one-sided to argue that economic forces played no part in my decision to move. If anything, as the parent of a newly minted college student, earning a competitive salary is more important than ever. The University of Southern California is a private university, so my California residency will do nothing to help pay the tuition bills. But my higher salary will. Another of my colleagues, a mid-career professional who is getting married this year, has opted to move to Connecticut. She also has other reasons for moving: she’ll be closer to her family. But, as she looks forward to starting a family of her own, she must heed economic realities. Four years of stagnant teacher salaries and shrinking professional resources affected her decision, too. I have heard rumblings from other talented mid-career colleagues, as well as young people embarking on teaching careers, that salary, benefits, professional development and school resources are making CEHS a less attractive place to work than it once was. They are watching the help wanted ads in surrounding towns, as well as out-of-state, for more lucrative positions.
 I have spent most of my life in Maine, and I have grown up with the assumption that people live here, despite low salaries, for Maine’s elusive “quality of life.” I have also heard that teachers don’t go into teaching for the money, that it’s a calling that requires service and sacrifice. I have heard that Cape has somehow (perhaps demographics, perhaps a dedicated volunteer force, or some other mysterious quality) managed to create Cadillac schools on a Chevy budget. Several of the town councilors have argued that we can “maintain the quality of education,” despite rising insurance, heating, transportation, special education and food costs, without increasing the budget to cover those costs.
 These are fairy tales. Superintendent Hawkins delivered a budget at 13.2 percent, which would have met the needs of our schools fully. The school board then cut the budget as much as they felt was prudent, to 6 percent. Anything less will result in more of the problems that have been mounting at Cape Elizabeth schools for the last four years: broken photocopiers, ancient textbooks, rickety furniture, fewer electives, and, ultimately, demoralized staff.
 Please go to the polls on June 10 and vote “no” on the Cape Elizabeth Town Council’s proposed 4.6 percent budget.
 Hannah Jones
Cape Elizabeth