Superintendent chart was misleading

On behalf of the Urbana School District 116 Board of Education, I want to respond publicly to the Dec. 7 article on superintendent salaries, because ofthe story's misleading representation and inaccuracies.

Urbana School District 116's superintendent, Dr. Donald D. Owen, was listed as the second highest paid superintendent in the region.

However, Dr. Owen is the only superintendent on the list who pays 100 percent of his own pension, annuities and life insurance benefits.Those expenses are deducted fromhis salary. The other superintendents receive those benefits in additions to their salary. Additionally, Dr. Owen does not receive adistrict-owned automobile as is provided to some other superintendents, nor does he accept travel reimbursements.

As members of the Urbana Board of Education we are committed to being good stewards of the tax revenues that support our students and our schools, and to making decisions that are fiscally responsible. Dr. Owen's compensation is appropriate based on his education, experience and expertise. The Urbana Board of Education is dedicated to providing exceptional schoolsfor our outstanding community, and we continue to do so by hiring and striving to retain the best teachers, administrators and support staff.

I urge The News-Gazette to do a better job of insuring that articles such as the one referenced provide informationthat has been thoroughly researched andare presented inan accurate manner rather than listing incomplete and dissimilar information that misleads the public. Our community deservesand expects ahigher level of professional journalism.

JOHN DIMIT

President, Urbana School District 116 Board of Education

Urbana

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Superintendent chart was misleading