The message is impossible to miss – the teachers in Geneva showing up at school board meetings, wearing their matching bright green shirts in a show of unity as they seek a new contract that calls for salary increases.

But as we all fight through a difficult economic time, the teachers can’t really expect their friends and neighbors to show much support. Many teachers in other school districts – understanding the hardships that others are enduring – have taken pay freezes. And it simply is not the time to gather en masse and demand across-the-board raises.

We understand teachers have an important job, and they deserve respect. But it’s not disrespectful to ask for a temporary pay freeze when local residents – the very people responsible for funding the teachers’ salaries – have had to endure more difficult sacrifices. In a time of pay reduction and layoffs, many would welcome a pay freeze. Instead, many people say they are earning less than they were five years ago. Geneva teachers can’t say the same.