Hancock County school board taking a look at coaching policy
Trending
NEW CUMBERLAND -- The Hancock County Board of Education may be looking at adjustments to a policy regulating hierarchy and pay structures of coaching staffs in the county school system.
As part Monday's meeting at the John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center, the board held a discussion on Policy GEA, which focuses on athletic coaches. Board Vice President Ed Fields explained he had requested for the policy to be included on the agenda.
"I've been getting a lot of feedback since I've been on the board," Fields said.
In particular, Fields said he had been asked about the hiring practices of assistant coaches, as well as the pay scale. Board members noted, while assistant coaches on the high school and middle school levels have different amounts of involvement and different lengths of seasons, they receive the same compensation.
Superintendent Dawn Petrovich noted, while the hiring of coaches is regulated under Policy GEA, the pay scale is part of another policy.
Fields also reported disagreements over the hierarchy of coaching staffs, including whether middle school sports were to be considered their own systems, feeder systems for the high schools, and whether middle school coaches reported to the high school head coaches.
"There's got to be a way we could get along," Fields said.
Board member Larry Shaw noted he was on the board in 2018, the last time Policy GEA was updated.
"At that time, it was a compromise, at least that's what we were told," Shaw said, explaining it set out how coaches were to be hired, as well as stipulations for annual reviews of coaching staffs and the involvement of the school's principal and athletic director.
"Cooperation should be the key," Shaw, a former coach himself, said.
Board member Gerard Spencer, who has served as an assistant coach at Weir High, said different programs and schools have taken various approaches over the years.
"The administrations need to get on the same page," he said.
Board President Chris Gillette asked Fields if he would like to head up discussions on any policy or pay scale adjustments. Fields, though, suggested the formation of a committee, with athletic directors and coaches from the county's middle and high schools, to discuss any issues and then report back to the board with any suggestions.
In other business Monday, the board approved an updated Policy GCC, which establishes the policy for Professional and Service Staff leave and absences without pay.