Stephens Co. BOE Talks Supplements

The Stephens County Board of Education approves some of its supplements for next school year.

School board members discussed supplements for athletics and activities at the high school and middle school at their meeting Tuesday.

Stephens County High School Athletic Director Frank Barden first presented the proposed supplements on Thursday.

Barden said that he is wanting to change how athletic supplements are given, moving from a sliding scale based on experience to a set supplement amount.

He said that will not only ensure that the school complies with gender equity requirements, it will also make budgeting easier and save the school system money.

“That way, when you all come in and vote on a new budget for athletics, it does not change,” said Barden. “So far, you have had to go through a new number every year and we want it to be the same.”

To help move towards that system, Barden proposed essentially freezing supplements at their current levels.

Tuesday, Board of Education Chair Tony Crunkleton said he was comfortable with the high school’s supplements.

However, he said he is worried about the consistency of some of the proposed middle school supplements.

“For example, at the high school, the head baseball coach is a higher-paid position than the head soccer coach,” said Crunkleton. “But at the middle school, the head soccer coach is higher-paid than the baseball coach.”

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said he would prefer to address those issues next year, rather than now.

“These are supplements that these folks have grown accustomed to and just feel like freezing them right now, and then give us time to look at another new scale to address issues like that,” said Dorsey.

School Board Member David Fricks agreed, saying Barden should look at all of it and make recommendations for in the future, not this coming year.

However, board member Dr. Elizabeth Pinkerton said that if they are switching to a set supplement system, they need to go ahead and do it right the first time, rather than wait.

Crunkleton proposed approving the high school supplements and tabling middle school supplements.

That motion passed 5 to 2, with Fricks and Rod Moore voting against.

Barden told the board Thursday that freezing supplements, along with other proposed cuts in the athletics department, would save the school system about $22,000 in the budget next year.