Wilson will continue to push toward excellence

To the Editor:

Election time is quickly approaching. We will be voting for Charlie Wilson. We sat and spoke with him. We were impressed with his energy level, knowledge and overall qualifications.

He was chosen by the School Board from about 30 candidates to replace Gary Tyack. Charlie's children have gone through the school district and he has been actively involved in Worthington Schools for many years.

He teaches law at The Ohio State University and has a business degree with a concentration in accounting and finance. Charlie is committed to financial soundness in the budget and supporting the community's expectations for excellence for its students.

One of the biggest advantages that we see is that because he has been on the School Board filling Gary Tyack's seat since February 2007, he will not have the "learning curve" that is associated with a new job.

The election is on Nov. 6 and this has been a very low key season. Please exercise your right to vote. If you would like more information on Charlie, his Web site is Wilsonforboard.com. Thank you.

Kate and Lou Emeterio
 

Elected board members need to represent all residents

To the Editor:

Educate Worthington wonders, "Does it really matter who is elected to the school board this year?"... especially for 62 percent of Worthington residents who do not have children in our schools? Maybe not, but let's take a closer look.

The Worthington Schools is the second largest employer in the district, and plans to spend $107 million of our tax dollars this year on the extremely worthy cause of educating this community's children, America's next generation. Fair enough, and we hope the school board members use our money wisely, to provide the greatest possible opportunity for our children.

The difficulty comes when we realize that $93 million of this year's budget has already been spent. It was earmarked for staff salaries and benefits two years ago, when the board negotiated the last three-year union contracts, which drive 87 percent of our annual budget.

Educate Worthington (educateworthington.org) respectfully offers the following thoughts for next year's school board, whoever they may be:

As you will be solely responsible for negotiating a new union contract in 2008, we suggest that a three-year contract may simply be too long. It is unwise to make long-term commitments today, that will limit your ability to make the best decisions for students and taxpayers in the future. In addition, we ask that you take a close look at the annual salary and benefits costs in the new five-year forecast.

Why does this matter now? Because the contracts you negotiate today will determine whether these large increases become reality. And you will be the ones going back to the residents to ask for multiple levies to support these increases, that provide no new teachers or programs for the students, and nothing but increased taxes for Worthington residents and businesses.

In closing, it may not matter a great deal who is on the school board next year, but what really does matter is who they represent once they are there.

Michael Alfred