VIDALIA, La. – Baffled, betrayed, confused and disgusted. That is how Concordia Parish educators described their reaction to state education officials getting a raise while teachers are still waiting for one.

This year, state Superintendent Cecil Picard gave 18 of his top Department of Education officials raises of as much as 12 percent each, for a total of $100,000.

Kristin Nunn, a fifth-grade teacher at Vidalia Upper Elementary, said news of the raises produced &uot;a hurtful feeling&uot; among teachers Friday.

&uot;It’s almost as if they’re saying, ‘We want you to produce good students and we value what you do, but we’re not willing to pay for it. Instead, we want to pay ourselves,’&uot;&160;Nunn said. &uot;It’s double talk.&uot;

Debra Raley, who teaches kindergarten at Ferriday Lower Elementary, called the top-level raise &uot;disheartening&uot; and continuing low salaries &uot;a constant slap in the face.&uot;

&uot;Are they (state education officials) responsible for raising test scores?&160;Are they constantly being asked to do more and more for their pay?&uot; Raley said. &uot;No — but we are.

&uot;They seem to find the money for what they need, but we’re left out. They’re telling teachers they don’t really value them.&uot;

Julie Rogers, a teacher’s aide at Vidalia Upper Elementary, felt so strongly about the issue that she made copies of Friday’s article and distributed them to fellow educators.

&uot;To me, the biggest thing was the way it was hidden,&uot; Rogers said. &uot;It was done and nobody knew about it until now. … (Picard) is a CEO, but he’s still a state employee, too,&uot;&160;she added.

She was referring to Picard’s comment to the Associated Press Thursday that &uot;I’m a CEO, I&160;made a decision and I can’t afford to lose these people.&uot;

And Concordia educators also believe Friday’s news will make it even harder to get voters to pass a proposed tax plan to fund education. Those two amendments — called the &uot;Stelly plan&uot;&160;after their author, state Rep. Vic Stelly, R-Lake Charles — will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The proposed constitutional amendments would swap some sales taxes for income taxes in order to raise $202 million a year in taxes for education, with no less than 80 percent of resulting funds going for raises for teachers and school support employees.

&uot;I don’t know who will vote for those amendments now, if the state’s not willing to use their excess funds for us but to pad their own pockets,&uot; Nunn said.

&uot;The Stelly plan is probably good, but when things like this come out, what are people supposed to think?&uot; Raley said.

&uot;They found the money for (state-level raises), but they have difficulty finding money for our raise?&160;Come on. … They got a raise of 12 percent and they didn’t even have to pass a tax to do it.&uot;

Such reactions make even more sense when one considers the distrust that already exists between educators and the State of Louisiana, said Fred Marsalis, principal at Vidalia Junior High, who has been an educator for 35 years.

&uot;If teachers know (the state) is going to only raises for the people they want to raise salaries for, … that makes the existing mistrust teachers have that much greater,&uot;&160;Marsalis said. &uot;Educators have been told they’ll get a raise for years — Gov. (Mike) Foster said it in his campaign speeches — but it never happened.&uot;

&uot;They said, ‘Vote for the lottery and you’ll get a raise’, but we didn’t get that raise,&uot;&160;Raley said. &uot;Yet every time you pick up the paper you see that another group is always getting something. There’s a lot of distrust there.

&uot;How could they not think this would make us angry?&uot;

Such news could make the statewide problem of getting certified teachers to replace retiring educators that much worse, parish teachers added.

&uot;We’ve been hearing a lot about the high number of uncertified teachers in Louisiana, but that’s something they’re going to have to accept if they’re not going to improve teachers’ salaries,&uot;&160;Raley said.

&uot;No (college students) are going into this. They say, ‘We can go to college for two years and make twice as much doing something else’. And they’re right.&uot;

&uot;It’s a sad day when they pick (state-level salaries) over education on the local level,&uot;&160;Nunn said. &uot;And the kids are ultimately going to be the ones who suffer.&uot;

Nunn added that she is not sure whether she will encourage her daughter’s interest in a teaching career.

&uot;I feel like I&160;owe it to her to show her other career options,&uot;&160;Nunn said. &uot;Teachers don’t want an exorbitant salary, just a livable wage.&uot;

&uot;We need to invest more in children and less in state officials.&uot;