Football coaches still paid way more than teachers
AUSTIN — Football coaches at schools in the state’s two largest classifications average $31,404 more in salary than teachers, slightly less than they did 10 years ago, the Austin American-Statesman reported Sunday following an examination of public records. The Statesman reviewed the salaries for the 2005-06 school year from schools in Classes 5A and 4A through documents obtained under the Texas Public Information Act. The findings were very similar to a similar study done by The Associated Press in 1996, using records from the 1995-96 school year. The latest numbers show coaches making an average of $73,804, compared to $42,400 for teachers.
In a stunning (yet hardly surprising) dislplay of how thoroughly misplaced and @!#$&%-up this state’s educational priorities are, a survey once again shows that football rules in Texas. Yes, you might have a brilliant future as a novellist or and engineer, but unless you can throw a tight spiral or execute an open-field tackle, no one cares. I love football as much as anyone (and more than most), but even I have to admit that these numbers are completely out of whack.
Yes, coaching football is tough. Expectations are out of whack, and coaches, even at the high school level, are hired to be fired. Coaches have to deal with the reality of long hours, unrealistic expectations, and parents living vicariously through their children (and who all see their children as the reincarnation of Joe Montana). Nonetheless, does this justify paying football coaches close to TWICE what teachers make? Not bloody likely….
“The state sets a minimum salary, and paying teachers anything above that is a district by district decision,” said Texas Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley, a former superintendent at Galena Park North Shore.
“Not everything is going to be equal,” she added, noting that math and science teachers tend to make more than English and history teachers. “I’ve been in the public school business for 35 years now, and it’s just the way it is.”
That doesn’t mean we have to acquiesce to this farcical reality. Does it? Of course, this is high school football in Texas, and no good, God-fearing Texan would dare impugn the place of Friday night football in our cultural pantheon.
Coaches receive a base salary, plus a coaching stipend that ranges from $1,000 to the $35,000 paid to Dodge. Their contracts usually are based on a 226-day work year, while teachers’ contracts are based on a 187-day year. It’s common for football coaches to log 70 to 100 [hours] per week during the season, including time on Saturdays and Sundays, compared to 40 to 70 per week for teachers.
“My wife is a teacher, and she doesn’t want to work the schedule I work,” said Lufkin coach John Outlaw, third on the salary list at $103,500. “She’s told me numerous times she doesn’t want to do it. And I don’t blame her.”
Coaches’ jobs are more scrutinized, with thousands of people in the stands watching them and results posted in the newspaper and debated within the community. Neeley noted that successful coaches also produce more college scholarships for players.
Right…and compared to the general student population, athletic scholarships are awarded to a miniscule percentage of students. Outlaw’s argument is absurd on it’s face, but then again, of course he’s going to justify his ridculously out of whack salary. Who in their right mind would admit that they make too much money?
If we can pay football coaches as much as we do, then why shouldn’t we be able to pay teachers that much. After all, whose job is more important? Who has the greater long-term impact on students? Hint: it’s not the football coach. I can talk about this until I’m blue in the face and nothing will change. This is Texas, and football rules. Besides, who wants to watch a math class on Friday night?
