Wilson statements tell only part of the story

At the May 7 and May 10 Worthington board of education meetings, statements were made by board member Charlie Wilson that at best tell only part of the story.

In an exchange with board president Marc Schare he said that he was tired of the constant attacks on teachers' salaries and the salary scale. He then stated that in 2003 Worthington's salary schedule was second from the highest in the 16 school districts in central Ohio, had fallen to ninth in 2009 and is now eighth.

However, in the March 5, 2010, edition of Columbus Business First in its public school analysis list of the 49 school districts in the central Ohio region, Worthington, with an average teacher salary of $68,355, was fourth only to Upper Arlington at $70,164, Bexley at $71,655 and barely below Grandview at $68,989. Still, those other three school systems have less total students combined than Worthington, which leads to the conclusion that Worthington has the greatest number of highest paid teachers of the school districts in central Ohio.

Further, a larger school district, Olentangy Local, has an average salary of $55,955, which is 18 percent lower than Worthington's average salary, although both school systems produce similar excellent results.