Part I of a two-part part examination of Salida coach and sponsor stipends:
Salida Athletic Director Jim Coscarella met with the members of the Salida School Board to discuss the possibility of a pay increase for certain coaches and sponsors of all levels across the school district. In a March 12 letter, Coscarella requested $93,000 for stipends and $7,000 for additional funds, bringing the total requested funds to $100,000.
Coscarella said, “[For] 10 years, and there has never had a raise.”
Coaches put in more hours than just during the actual seasons, but the reality that many coaches work through the school year and summer, according to Coscarella. He explained that this must be looked at for “more than just a 10-week picture.”
The Salida School Board listens to Athletic Director Coscarella present a recommendation on adjustments to coach and sponsor stipends, which have not changed in ten years. Photo by Avery Martinez.
During the meeting, school board member Jeannine Peters asked if coaches had been lost in the past due to this issue.
“We lose probably three a year,” said Coscarella. “It’s a combination, not just of the stipend, but all the money that goes into it.” He added that several factors can cause a district to lose coaches. “Coaches don’t generally perform the work for the money, but [they] do appreciate being recognized and getting a little bit more money.”
“This increase … will put them in the top percentage of 3A programs,” said Coscarella. “The increase will make the Salida School District competitive with other schools in the region,” His letter noted that the increase would demonstrate the appreciation of work, energy and time the coaches devoted to the student-athletes.
In the letter, he asks the board to consider a “$500 bonus for programs that are awarded team Academic All-State from CHSAA [Colorado High School Activities Association].”
Other requests include: adding another sponsor to the mountain bike team; adding another middle school cross country coach due to increased numbers of participants; and adding two stipended coaches for weight room coverage, as this was something that had previously been in place.
Superintendent David Blackburn mentioned before the discussion that this topic was only for conversation and that no action was being taken at the meeting. But he did comment that it might be a May action item.
History of coach stipends
Coscarella explained that over the past six years, he had looked into stipend increases, but had not proposed changes. He explained that Dr. Robert Gilchrist, a former Salida School District teacher and former head of the math department, had helped him research the stipend increases.
Coscarella said that while he had supplied the stats and information and asked for his recommendations about stipends, it was Gilchrist who was the “brainiac” who liked stats.
“So, he put together a book — I didn’t give you the book because it would just make your head spin,” said Coscarella, adding that the pages provided to the school board were the first five pages of “the book,” containing Gilchrist’s recommendations.
Several schools were asked for stipend comparison information. Schools selected for comparison were comparable to Salida, explained Coscarella. Of the 13 schools sampled, 10 schools “pay some form of annual increment” and the increments “are based on longevity,” according to the document.
When this information was compiled in 2014, there were three different “bands” or kinds of sport stipends, according to Coscarella. “A stipend band would be something like football, basketball and volleyball in one band,” said Coscarella.
He explained that these bands were selected based on how much money was made at the gates to those events, the length of the seasons and whether there are higher expenses to run programs. A Band II sport would be a junior high program, according to Coscarella, with the money required to run those programs is not as high as a Band I program.
Coscarella also clarified there were no differences in the stipend between a varsity or a junior varsity team because a coach with the varsity team would also be helping with the junior varsity.
For example, said Coscarella, football needs several different levels and types of coaches. He explained that the five coaches on the team worked with all types of team members.
School board member Joel McBride asked if assistant coaches at the high school level were making more than assistant coaches at the middle school level. “Correct,” Coscarella said. “But not by much.”
For the other school districts, the longer the season determines how much more the coaches are paid. A freeze had been placed on coach’s stipends throughout the Salida district for five years, said Coscarella. Little has been done since that time to raise the pay — regardless if the coach is a head coach, an assistant or other special team or project coach.
“At the time that we did this, I was looking to increase the salaries for our coaches,” Coscarella explained, adding at the minimum he wanted to get some form of annual increment. “A step increase, per se.”
Coscarella added that in 2014 he had presented this to the school board and they had approved the raises, but nothing happened. “It was still frozen, there was no increase in the salaries,” Coscarella said.
The increments are based on longevity, and according to Coscarella, are “self-explanatory.” Every year a coach would receive a step increase. In this way, a coach at year two is making less than a coach at year 10, according to Coscarella.
According to the documents presented, “Salida head coaches receive below average starting salaries for Band I sports and above average starting salaries for Band II sports.” But Salida assistant coaches received below average starting salaries for both Band I and II sports.
The document presented several recommendations for salary increments while keeping the coach salary schedule simple. Among the recommendations, consideration of adjusting starting salaries for head and assistant coaches, as well as adding an annual increment.
Coscarella also noted during the discussion that in years past, volunteer coaches had played a large role in the teams. However, volunteers were something he was unsure of, due to liability reasons. He explained that his experience goes back to when he started in 2009 – during the depths of the country’s economic recession. He said the superintendent at that time “froze” everything and wanted to keep everything the same.
“The superintendent and athletic director agreed on what they thought was fair to coaches at that time,” said Coscarella. “And what they were going to pay their coaches based on what you see in front of you.”
Another document, titled “Stipend Scales for Extra Duty 2009-2010” lists a head coach of a “major sport” as receiving $3,500. An assistant coach for a “major sport” receives $1,500 The major sports listed in the document include volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming, soccer, football, baseball, track and soccer.
A guideline for major sports (provided within the scales document) lists that there must be at minimum 22 athletes or a 12-week season, at least 10 “contests (not including regional competitions and beyond), that practices must equal at least 10 hours per week for two weeks prior to season and “be above junior high level.”
Head coaches for a “minor sport” receive $1,700 and assistant coaches receive $1,000, according to the scales document. These minor sports were listed as cheerleading, cross country and golf.
The scales document also mentions intramurals reading that “intramurals (paid as an assistant only).” Junior high coaches received $1,500 while assistants receive $1,100, according to the scales document.
“So we didn’t get the increase in salaries at that time,” Coscarella said to the board. “But we did get the amount (on paper).”
Coscarella also mentioned that the terminology of major and minor sport categories are no longer used today while pay depends upon the school category. Public schools pay the most, followed by public charter schools, while private schools pay less than public schools.
“Sport differentials primarily based on a combination the number of athletes and length of the season,” the document reads.
Coscarella also said the role of assistant athletic director has morphed into an event coverage person. He added that an event coverage person probably covered approximately 30 games over a school year.
Tomorrow: Part II – Recommended sponsor stipends and next steps
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