Resignation.

Fluffy,

I gave 12 years of service to this company, the last seven as the site director at **.

Only eight days before school started in 2009, I walked into a poorly stocked and maintained program that had four half-empty carts, three tattered and stained rugs, three beanbag chairs with holes in them and a very poor reputation in the school/community.

In those same eight days I fixed the dearth of supplies without any support from management, as my manager was on maternity leave and the person filling in for her turned her back and flapped a hand at me after I drove all the way down to the the office to ask for help. "I don't know what to tell you," she said dismissively, and went back to playing solitaire on her computer. 

Building/repairing relationships with the school took awhile, but I managed that, too.

Seven years later, I have a thriving program that's a vibrant, exciting place. Part of the fabric of the school. I have improved our reputation considerably. When our contract was up for renewal three years ago, letters that were written by parents from my program were instrumental in the decision to continue to allow the ***  programs in the local schools.

In March of 2016 I saw the ad you placed recruiting site directors for this company in our area. Offered in that advertisement was an hourly wage to start that is substantially higher than what I earn after giving 12 years of stellar service to this company.

In addition, those newly hired people were offered bonuses for staying through the end of the school year, something that many of us have done for a long time because it's part of the job, not because we were offered extra money for taking the job seriously.

Until the 40 cents per hour increase I received on my August 5th check, I had not had a raise in more than three years.

That averages out to a little over 13 cents a year, or looked at another way, a little over a penny per month of service.

Appalling and insulting.
The message you're sending to your long term, loyal staff is that a person can walk in off the street and be offered ** dollars an hour. They can obtain this wage and a bonus with little or no site director experience.

They will then be placed higher on the pay scale than people with an extensive background in education, childcare, and in my case, more than a decade of experience with this company.

You've demonstrated to them... and me...  that having little or no experience is worth more than loyalty, experience, education, and proven success.

Shameful.
I would be so embarrassed to treat people that way.

I will no longer accept the lack of respect.
I have been dependable, reliable, wonderful at what I do and enhanced the reputation of this company for 12 years.

My pay should have been higher than new site directors, not lower.

Hiring people and placing them at the top of the pay scale over someone with my record is not equitable. The long-term employees who built their programs so well should have been appreciated and rewarded.
Because of the hands-on, heart-involved way I do my job, I've had huge respect and admiration from my kids, their parents, and the school staff, including every principal I've worked with.

Everyone I've encountered while doing my job has been appreciative and respectful.
Everyone except for you and the company I work for.

Don't make the mistake of thinking I am leaving over money.
If money were the only issue, I'd have moved on a long time ago.
This is about respect.

While weighing the decision to leave, I tried to recall even one instance in the last year where I felt my years of experience, the amazing job I do and the dedication to my kids was remarked on or appreciated by you. Couldn't come up with even one.

Instead, what came to mind was the total lack of support you've provided.

Our 'manager' has become a flurry of emails filled with peremptory orders and a complete lack of regard for the people who built not only their own thriving programs but had worked as a team to make our break programs a destination. We were no longer allowed to work as a team, collaborate to make our breaks fun, or have any input into anything.

What a crummy way to treat loyal, veteran staff.

That's not a good atmosphere to work in, in case you wondered. Demoralizing, demeaning and just... sad. This year, I spent nearly four hours off the clock on my own time, meeting with you not once but twice, talking with you and trying to fix things.

You were made aware of the issues and concerns and you did nothing. You sat and smiled and nodded and lied and dismissed me as effectively as that long-ago manager.

Eventually, I got the point.
You recently told me via email after I asked to be paid for the extra hours only after I invested a total of eleven hours per unit to design, procure supplies and provide materials for two curriculum units that the kids absolutely loved for your summer program that 'we discourage outside purchases.'

Great choice of words.
I've never felt more discouraged in my life.

You'll find that I left many things at *** that do not belong to the company. I feel that it's unfair to penalize the children for the lack of regard you have for me.

One of the things I left behind was a fully stocked book cart. There are over 300 books on that cart that belong to me personally.

And it would be appropriate for me to receive some compensation for them.

During the seven years I spent at ****, I believe the company purchased a total of six books for my program.

Promoting literacy at the same rate they're showing respect for their employees.