District leaders are the highest paid employees in the New Albany-Plain Local Schools, public records obtained by The Dispatch show.
Superintendent Michael Sawyers was the top paid employee in the school system in 2025, bringing in a total of $714,139. Treasurer Rebecca Jenkins was the second-highest paid employee in the district, making $538,526, according to payroll records.
Sawyers left the district in the spring for a new job as the next superintendent of the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio. Jason Fine, former Bexley schools superintendent, was hired as his replacement.
More than 5,100 students attend classes at New Albany-Plain Local Schools, according to the district's website.
New Albany is a city of around 11,604 people, according
to the U.S. Census Bureau. First founded as a village in 1837, retail mogul and billionaire Les Wexner helped lead a rise in development in New Albany after forming a development corporation known as the New Albany Company.
The highest paid employees in the school district last year included:
- Michael Sawyers, superintendent: $714,139.
- Rebecca Jenkins, treasurer: $538,526.
- Robert Russell, high school principal: $462,805.
- Cerri Minzler, bus driver: $424,826.
- Lori Lofton, assistant superintendent: $414,948.
Earnings reflect each person's gross pay, which includes their salary, any bonus or overtime they received as well as other benefits such as severance pay, stipends and more.
The Dispatch obtained the school district's payroll through a public records request as part of an ongoing series analyzing salaries across public, taxpayer-funded agencies in the greater Columbus area. Use the database below to search the payrolls of public institutions from around the region, including school districts, local governments, colleges and more.
Who are the highest-paid employees at New Albany-Plain Local Schools?
Database note: Pay classified as "other" in the database can include holiday or vacation time, accrued time as well as miscellaneous pay or stipends, among other payments a public employee received in 2025.
Editors note: The Dispatch used AI tools to help organize and clean data for this salary database.
Dispatch investigative reporter Max Filby can be reached by email at mfilby@dispatch.com. Find him on X at the handle @MaxFilby or on Facebook at @ReporterMaxFilby.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who are New Albany-Plain Local Schools highest-paid workers?
