Weighing the costs of a lost season

The fate of spring sports lies in the hands of the governor and the Minnesota State High School League - for now, nothing until May 4 - but coaching contracts are another matter.

To pay or not to pay, that is the question school boards across the state are facing as it looks less and less likely that in-person classes will resume and prep sports seasons will happen after all.

On Monday, Gov. Tim Walz said it was unlikely that the sports season would be salvaged. He planned to talk with school officials this week.

"I come back to the idea that I think the things we've missed the most are going to be some of the hardest things to get started again, and that's difficult for me," Walz said at his daily press conference Monday. "So at this point in time I'm not super-optimistic about it."

Carlton superintendent Gwen Carman told her school board Monday that pay is a "big issue across the state." In the end, she said, coaches made a commitment and there is nothing in contracts that says they won't get paid if there isn't a season. There is also no way to quantify just how much preparation coaches had already done, Carman said, meaning any thoughts of prorating pay would be difficult. And doing so would surely be grieved by the employee union, she said.

"It's an unusual situation," she said.

The Carlton board voted to pay the $20,649 in stipends for coaches in track, baseball and softball. A silver lining, Carman said, is that the district won't have transportation costs ferrying players to games and meets. There is little lost in ticket sales since spring sports generally have no admission fees for fans. The school will lose participation fees.

Cloquet school board members have yet to make a decision, but they discussed several options during the April 13 board meeting.

Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary said the high school administration recommended paying the coaches their full stipend, whether there is a season or not.

Some sports had already started practices the week before the governor moved all schools to distance learning. Others had not.

"Lots of times coaches are working year-round and communicating in the off-season with players, making plans, so they thought it best to pay those people anyway," Cary said. "On the other hand, if there's no season, they (coaches) didn't really fulfill their role. But if we need them, they'll be here three weeks from now if the governor allows schools to open."

Alternatives discussed in Cloquet range from paying contracts in full, prorating pay or paying nothing. Board members also weighed the loss of student fees with the drop in transportation costs.

Carlton activities director Ben Midge said Monday that there has been little direction offered from the Minnesota State High School League since it stopped all activities last month in the middle of the state girls basketball tournament. He said the league took some flak for short-circuiting the basketball seasons and is likely being conservative in announcing any cancellation of spring sports.

Midge said that as long as the state keeps students out of the schools, there can't be any sports activities. "I don't know how you run spring sports with school canceled," he said. "There's a lot of ideas out there but you can't justify having a season without school in session."

League rules dictate that all spring sports events be finished by June 30, which leaves a little room for shortened seasons, Midge said. But he also wondered how events would be staffed, noting that many baseball and softball umpires are older and in the risk group for COVID-19.

Cloquet board members voiced their appreciation of the work the coaches do, but not all were sold on the idea of paying them in full if the spring seasons are canceled.

"My concern is No. 1, we will set a precedent, and No. 2, that we are going to be cutting $700,000 (from next year's budget)," said longtime board member and former teacher Jim Crowley. "If we can save money, for example by paying half their coaching salary, I think that's plenty."

The Cloquet school district is looking at almost $68,000 pay for spring coaches if the board elects to pay them in full. That includes baseball, softball, boys tennis, boys golf, girls golf, boys track, girls track, trapshooting and the spring play.

In answer to a question from board member Hawk Huard, Cary said Cloquet Community Ed has made staffing reductions and cuts as a result of losing fees. Board chairman Ted Lammi pointed out that not paying the full stipend to coaches would be consistent with Community Ed.

Cary told the board he would ask activities director Paul Riess to put together a report on the various springs sports and if they started practice before spring break, along with researching how other districts in the region are handling the issue. The superintendent suggested that the board consider the issue again at its May 11 meeting. If it were decided to pay the wages in full, members would not have to take any action. Otherwise, if they voted to prorate the pay, he suggested they wait until the end of the school year to decide the particulars.

Editor's note: On Thursday, after the Pine Knot News went to press, Gov. Tim Walz extended distance learning through the end of this school year and the Minnesota State High School League canceled all spring sports and extracurricular activities. Read more about that here (https://www.pineknotnews.com/story/2020/04/24/sports/high-school-spring-sports-seasons-canceled/3093.html) and in next week's Pine Knot News.

CLOQUET SCHOOL BOARD NOTES

Also at its April 13 meeting, Cloquet school board members took the following actions:

-Approved a merchandise royalty agreement with Cloquet Sporting Goods that gives owner Paul Morton the non-exclusive right to sell apparel with the Lumberjacks name and logo. In return, Morton will pay Cloquet public schools a 10-percent royalty on the net profit of the item sold. The quality of the apparel should be high, and any additional slogans or alterations to the logo or the Lumberjack name must be authorized by the AD and CHS principal prior to production. "We both felt it was fair," Cary said of the negotiation with Morton. "It's a small business that really supports the community."

-Accepted retirement letters from the following staff members: first-grade teacher Julie Schultz, K-12 media specialist Jill Elwood, executive assistant to the superintendent Bonnie Monfeldt, Washington head secretary Lori Alaspa, Washington secretary/receptionist Laurie Thudin and CHS special education paraprofessional Mary Comrie. "They will be missed very much," said board member Duane Buytaert.

Cary said he and finance director Candace Nelis would bring budget recommendations to the board at its 6 p.m. meeting April 27. Board members can attend the meetings in person or electronically. Members of the public are not permitted to attend, but they can monitor the meetings by livestream at https://www.isd94.org/Page/855. Members of the public may email name and comments to [email protected] or call 218-879-6721, ext. 6204 by noon the day of the school meeting and the comments will be read aloud at the meeting.