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Thursday, May 1, 2008
Arkansas Prep Football Coaches not to blame
Western Arkansas, AR
By: Nate Olson, VYPE
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Photo(s) By: Kyle Danztler/MyActionPortraits.com
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High school football coaches grow thick skin, but they’re smarting after taking an unnecessary slap.
The Little Rock newspaper ran a front-page story in its Sunday March 2, 2008 edition entitled Pay for coaches seen out of line that examined the disparity between Arkansas high school football coaches’ and teachers’ pay. It also included a list of every public school coach’s salary, creating controversy in some communities.
School districts receive state funding for each student enrolled, and the superintendent decides how to spend the money. Principals, teachers, coaches, custodians and all other employees are paid from state funds. There isn’t a law that requires a district to earmark a portion of those funds for teachers’ salaries, or “instruction budgets” as the story references.
“We are paid well, but we think teachers deserve more money, too,” said Harrison football coach and athletic director Tommy Tice. “I’ve never seen any good out of tearing down one side to build another up. We know the teachers haven’t caused this. We want to stand up for them and be good partners in education.”
The story also mentions a high school athletics rule that requires “coaches to teach academic courses.” The Arkansas Activities handbook states the following:
Rule 2 EMPLOYMENT
A. Coaches shall be regularly employed and paid by the local
board of education for professional duties. Assignment of
professional duties shall be for a minimum of three regular
class periods or equivalent time each day.
Football practice and offseason conditioning is considered an athletics class and can stretch more than two periods alone.
B. Assignment to a professional education duty other than a
classroom teaching assignment all or part of the required
three periods is permissible, but such assignment does not
excuse a coach from the licensure required as a teacher.
Greg Smith arrives at the Prescott fieldhouse at 6 a.m. and often doesn’t leave until after sunset. Smith serves as head football and baseball coach and athletic director. Some administrative work is done before school and after practices and games, while Smith’s wife, Cathy, and their four children wait patiently. Smith makes $60,149, earning every penny maintaining athletic fields and counseling his student-athletes, in addition to his regular coach and AD duties.
There are countless other stories across the state similar to Smith’s. Thirteen percent of Arkansas’ school districts see it fit to pay football coaches to “teach” football. The other 87 percent require coaches to fill roles as teachers, assistant principals, ADs or other administrative or support positions. Often, people that fill these roles as a single position without coaching are paid more than teachers. It makes sense that districts pay more if head-coaching duties are attached. In addition, some coaching administrators hold masters degrees, which elevates pay.
Arkansas ranks 49th in education, and it won’t move to 24th if the Department of Education mandates a coaches salary cap and teaching six periods a day. Arkansas’ education system has problems not related to coaches. Targeting them does no good for anyone.
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