We don’t know Joseph Erardi, the Superintendent of the Southington School system. But we do applaud something he has done – offer to keep his $158,000 where it is and negotiate a cut in pay.

The move was reported by Don Stacom today in Hartford Courant.

It would seem to some as a meaningless gesture given the salary and Erardi akknowledges as much, but he felt important if he to ask for more cuts in services or to open the teacher’s contract for concessions. Southington is looking at another 3.6 percent increase in its education costs, most related to salaries, insurance and special education costs.

We recall that the House and Senate Democrats voted against a Republican plan to cut their part-time legislative salaries by five and 10 percent respetively. Again, the total amount saved is a fiscal fly speck, but it does ask for a real commitment to the notion that we “are all in this together.” Gov. Rell has taken a day without pay, as has Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and some of  her deputies.