Really?

I've recently just discovered that the great state of Colorado is planning on cutting education funding once again.  I know everyone is so tired of hearing teachers complain about the problem, but sometimes I wonder who out there exactly is standing up for the people education our nation's youth? We are required to meet certain expectations and many of us go beyond the expectations laid out before us and pursue higher levels of mastery in our careers with Master's degree and professional development, so that we can offer our students the best.

What is so infuriating is that so many people fail to realize that our salaries are not covering the expenses required to be a licensed, highly qualified teacher.  Can someone explain this to me? The state wants our students to achieve more, they want their teachers to raise achievement levels, but they don't want to fund already underfunded schools. I'm confused. I'm baffled.  And if one more person tells me that I need to maintain a positive outlook and "do it for the kids," I will scream hysterically.  Why don't the administrators or the president take a pay cut or all of the polititcians who continue to raise their own salaries? Why don't they just work for "the sake of the country?"  It's exhausting and demoralizing and dishonoring to the hard work we've invested in our careers. 

My exhaustion from teaching will never come from dealing with students, it will come from the lack of respect our country places on the value of knowledge.