Walton County has very good schools and some schools perform better than others. I realize that budgets are critical but I also went through life believing that if a person worked hard and achieved the desired results you'd be OK. I lost a career that I dearly loved that spanned more than 32 years. My passion has been teaching. My parents and grandparents were educators and my grandfather was superintendent of schools in Alabama for more than 20 years. I taught first grade in Walton County for four years. I taught in Alabama for 28 years. I'm proud of the achievements and accomplishments of my students over the years. When my children left my first grade class they cound read. Grades 1 through 3 don't take the F-Cat so elementary teachers are the most expendable I suppose. I had no warnings that I'd be dismissed in 2010. On the very last day of school the principal came in, coldly told me that my contract had expired and to clean my room out. Nothing else. I'm also told that the board and principals knew in early May who would be non-renewed. If I had been told that there was a need to cut the more experienced, higher paid teachers prior to my dismissal I would have felt a lot better. Now, I'll go through life wondering what I did wrong. I'm sorry if I can't embrace Mrs. Anderson's continued service. The Golden Rule is something else I've tried to live by.