Cris Carter, Jimbo Fisher joins Florida high school coaches in advocating for pay increase
· Yahoo Sports
NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter on Wednesday joined a contingent of Florida high school coaches that visited Tallahassee, according to a report by USA Today, in advocating for pay increases in the Sunshine State.
Carter was also joined by former Florida State/Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher in joining the fight in helping to push lawmakers in the state to pass SB 538 and HB731, which would allow public school districts to significantly increase compensation for high school coaches across the board. SB 538 on Thursday passed the Senate with a unanimous 38-0 vote by lawmakers.
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“Bill Conley, wherever you are, you are responsible for Cris Carter making it through the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Carter said via the USA Today report of Bill Conley, who coached the NFL Hall of Famer during his high school days at Middletown (OH).
When it comes to being paid to coach high school athletics, coaches throughout the state of Florida are among the lowest in the country, with stipends regularly anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 in most areas.
“Our coaches are under compensated,” Fisher said in the report.
HB 731 focuses primarily on extracurricular funding flexibility for Florida high school school sports coaches, officially allowing booster clubs funds for extra pay. The bill’s key provision would gives school districts around the Sunshine State the flexibility to use booster club donations for coaching compensation, but would strictly prohibit using the funds to be used for severance pay of any sort.
SB 538 on the other hand centers around eligibility for athletic activities, removing the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) role for private school participation and bans schools from charging extra fees for extracurriculars.
The next step in the process towards higher coaching pay taking place in Florida is the two bills being presented and approved by the House & Senate, which is expected to happen sometime in March. The final steps after that would need to be signed off by Governor Ron DeSantis before it’s fully and officially approved to go into law.
Below is the proposed coaches’ stipends amounts per the bill that has been worked on by Andrew Ramjit of the FCC that would set coaching pay at minimum wage, which would be $15 an hour starting in September of this upcoming school year.
Football
Head coach: $22,500 stipend (Based on working a minimum of 1,500 hours)
Coordinators: $15,000 stipend (Based on working a minimum of 1,000 hours)
Baseball, Basketball (boys/girls), Softball & Volleyball
Head coach: $11,250 stipend (Based on working a minimum of 750 hours)
Soccer (boys/girls), Cheerleading, Wrestling, Track & Field (boys/girls), Lacrosse (boys/girls) & Swimming (boys/girls)
Head coach: $7,500 stipend (Based on working a minimum of 500 hours)
Water polo, Cross country (boys/girls), Golf (boys/girls), Tennis (boys/girls), Flag football, Weightlifting (boys/girls) & Bowling (boys/girls)
Head coach: $3,750 stipend (Based on working a minimum of 250 hours)
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