Española Valley High School coaches will be getting a raise this year, in a new simplified stipend schedule.
Athletic director Matt Abeyta presented his proposal to the Española School Board at a June 16 meeting, which the board approved unanimously.
The total coach stipends will increase the cost to the district by roughly $20,000, athletic director Matt Abeyta told the board.
“In light of the much needed and much deserved teacher pay increases … I thought it was only natural to take a look at our coaches’ stipends as well,” Abeyta said.
The new contracts will also run from July through June, rather than just being for the length of the season to go along with changes that allow increased out-of-season conditioning and summer programs.
Under the new salary schedule, “Group A” coaches, for sports with varsity and sub-varsity teams, will receive a stipend of $5,000 for 0-3 years of experience, $6,000 for 4-9 years of experience, and $7,000 for 10 or more years of experience. Group A assistant coaches will receive $2,750 to start, moving up to $3,350 and $3,950. Group B coaches, for varsity-only sports, will receive $4,000 for 0-3 years of experience, $5,000 for 4-9 years and $6,000 for 10 or more years. Assistant Group B coaches will receive $2,250, $2,850 or $3,450.
Head coaches at Carlos F. Vigil Middle School will receive $2,000 if they have a combined seventh-grade and eighth-grade team, and $1,800 if it is separated by grade level. Assistant coaches will receive $1,200.
Previously, stipends varied for each sport and were based on the length of the season — which Abeyta along with board members pointed out seemed arbitrary. The football season, he said, can last four more weeks depending on if the team makes the state tournament. And the New Mexico Activities Association “basically eliminated” out-of-season coaching restrictions, so most sports are now year-round.
Stipends for head coaches had ranged from $3,050 for a first-year cross country, track or golf coach to $6,600 for 12-plus years for a football, basketball or cheer coach. Assistant coach stipends were between $1,750 and $3,600. Abeyta said he did not want a system where some assistant coaches could make more than a head coach in another sport.
Abeyta compared these salaries to nearby school districts, and the new schedule puts Española in line or slightly above most districts including Pojoaque, Moriarty/Edgewood, Gallup and Taos, while slightly behind Los Alamos.