TERRE HAUTE —
Vigo County School Corp. lay coaches received a 20 percent pay cut effective July 1.
Lay coaches are not part of the teaching staff and therefore are not covered by the teachers’ collective bargaining agreement. In most cases, they coach high school or middle school athletics.
They are paid based on an “extra duty, extra pay” schedule. Last year, the school district had about 139 lay coaches, according to the district human resources office.
District officials decided about a month ago to make the cuts, and the lay coaches have been notified, said Superintendent Dan Tanoos.
“We wanted to keep them [lay coaches] on board, yet we also wanted to try to save money in our general fund,” Tanoos said. “It’s another cost-saving measure to protect the cash balance.”
State funding cuts of $4.6 million and a declining cash balance have prompted the school district to implement a series of cost-reduction measures, including an early retirement incentive offer earlier this year extended to teachers and administrators. The goal has been to avoid employee layoffs, Tanoos has said.
Coaches who are teachers and lay coaches have been paid according to the same extra-duty, extra pay schedule, but teaching staff will not receive a 20 percent cut for their added duties because they fall under the collective bargaining agreement.
The district usually gives preference to teaching staff when it hires coaches, Tanoos said, but sometimes it does hire non-teachers.
When teachers don’t apply for a position, “We take outside applications,” he said.
Coaching pay varies, according to the schedule. For example, with the 20 percent reduction, lay coaches would make the following: a middle school varsity volleyball coach would make $1,557; a freshman softball or baseball coach would make $2,076; and head coaches for several high school sports would make $3,374 (not including head basketball or head football coaches).
Most coaches are not in it for the money, Tanoos said. They do it because they enjoy coaching and working with students, he said.
As a cost-cutting measure, Monroe County Community School Corp. recently eliminated all stipends for extracurricular activities, including athletic coaching, for one year. The programs can continue with alternate funding or on a volunteer basis.
School board
For the third year in a row, the Vigo County School Board has agreed to give up to $25,000 to the Vigo County Education Foundation as part of a matching gift program.
The General Assembly approved legislation allowing school corporations to do so.
The foundation must first raise funds, which are then matched dollar-for-dollar by the school district, up to $25,000. The education foundation uses the money to provide mini-grants to teachers and to fund other academic programs.
“It allows us to double the $25,000 that they give us,” said Jenny Thomas, Vigo County Education Foundation executive director. In turn, “It allows us to meet more of the funding requests we get from the school district.”
While the $25,000 comes from the general fund, students will ultimately benefit from double that amount, said Superintendent Dan Tanoos. “The education foundation does so much for the school district.”
— Tribune-Star staff report
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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