Districts Withholding Coaches’ Pay for Spring Sports is Wrong
Everyone knows the devastation to education that the coronavirus has caused and the burdens it has placed upon educators. Since nobody knows how long the pandemic may last, certain measures had to be taken to ensure instruction would continue. Teachers had to resort to digital instruction to keep their students up to date on curriculum, especially because in the early days of the pandemic it was unknown when schools might reopen.
This also involved changes in coaching of spring sports. What if schools were to reopen in a month and full sports schedules would be resumed? Those students involved in sports would have to be well-conditioned to maintain their physical stamina in order to be able to compete.
Do you think they would have done that on their own? No, most likely not. So how could this maintenance be accomplished? I think I know! Let’s have the coaches keep in touch with their teams, encourage them to keep up morale, instruct them how to maintain their mental and physical strength in order to be able to compete, if necessary, and let them know they are not alone in their sadness. The seniors receive most of my sympathy, since they would be the most likely affected by being unable to complete their varsity careers.
Were coaches advised that their salaries were in peril in March or April? Were they instructed that they should not be in contact with their teams? I doubt it very seriously or we would have read about it much earlier than last week.
Coaches are very aware of their students’ feelings and have to deal with the very high highs and very low lows that they experience. They do that while caring deeply for them and sharing their emotions. Coaches received the first half of their stipends and continued to instruct their students, leading them to believe they would continue to be paid. So why are they being denied the rest of their payment when they continued to do their jobs?
Coaching salaries were approved in the budget that was voted on and passed in spring 2019. Funds were allocated for these purposes and should not be withheld or commingled with any other budget area, especially if the coaches were not told to cease instructional contact with students. Teachers were being paid for their work during this time; otherwise, the unions would have been up in arms.
Coaches do not seem to have that support behind them, but they shouldn’t need it. It should have been understood that full stipends would have been paid to them. It has come to my attention that neighboring Westlake did the right thing and paid their coaches their full stipends.
As a former board member and vice president of a neighboring school district, I therefore request that you reconsider your decision and restore payment to our valued, hardworking coaches.
Toni Ford
Pleasantville
