Without spring football, Manatee County coaches won’t get full supplement pay this year
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press briefing that schools were closed for the rest of the school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it caused a ripple effect.
The Florida High School Athletic Association followed April 20 with the announcement that spring high school sports were canceled.
Each school district had to determine what to do about the supplementary pay that coaches receive each season.
In Manatee County, coaches for every spring sport were given their allotted stipends, except for football coaches.
“They didn’t have those 20 practices in the spring, it didn’t take place,” said Manatee County Athletic Director Jason Montgomery. “They got paid for their full fall.”
The supplement for Manatee County high school football head coaches is $4,500 per year, according to the Manatee County School District’s athletic handbook. Football coaches receive 75 percent of the supplement in the fall and the remaining 25 percent, or $1,125, in the spring.
“I can understand the logic behind it,” said Southeast High head coach Brett Timmons. “But again, I think it’s not necessarily a different supplement. … It’s already allocated that was pulled out from the original supplement. But no service rendered, no pay. So I get it, no real qualms about it.”
Potential revenue drop
The school district is also anticipating “a huge drop in revenue,” Montgomery said.
“So we are saving every penny we can right now to try to carry into next year,” he said.
To plan for revenues dropping, Montgomery said the worst-case scenario is they’re back playing in the next school year but with only half the attendance for fall and winter sports.
“If that happens and the officials’ cost stayed the same as it was last year — and this is just based on basic operating expenses, this isn’t getting into uniforms and all that — we’re projecting a $40,000 shortfall,” Montgomery said.
In the Tampa Bay area, coaches in Hernando, Pinellas and Pasco counties are receiving their supplements despite spring football getting canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to PrimeTimePreps.com.
Hillsborough County coaches, however, are not, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Supplement rates
The supplement for coaches at Manatee County’s public schools is a small compared to the amount of hours coaches log throughout the year, between the fall season that starts in August with practices and leads into offseason conditioning programs, spring football and summer workouts.
“I just know the time that’s put in,” Palmetto High Athletic Director Kenny Ansbro said. “I think I speak for 90 percent of the coaches in this district and in all of our schools, all of them, I don’t see those other folks but I know they do it. … I do understand both sides.”
Here’s a breakdown of the supplements county football coaches get paid:
Varsity head coach - $4,500.
Varsity first assistant - $3,601.
Varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach - $3,001.
JV assistant and freshman head coach - $2,403.
Freshman assistant - $2,099.
“None of our coaches are compensated where they need to be,” Montgomery said.
