Booster Club member Mark Mitchell addressed the Board of Education about the possibility of bonuses for coaches whose team makes it beyond regular season play Thursday night.

The BOE has discussed the potential of adjusting extracurricular supplements for all GHSA extra-curricular staff since the summer, however the conversation has been tabled until further notice.

Superintendent Tim Cochran thinks these adjustments would attract and reward staff for their success.

The proposed bonuses would be for varsity level coaches paid by the system only.

Coaches who win the region title would receive a proposed one time 10% supplement bonus. Coaches who advance to the quarterfinals would receive a proposed one time 15% supplement bonus. Coaches who advance to the semi finals would receive a proposed one time 20% supplement bonus and coaches who advance to the state Championship would receive a proposed one time 25% supplement bonus.

The bonuses would not be cumulative and the max a coach could receive in one year is 25%.

For sports that do not have rounds, such as track, one-act play, golf their proposed bonuses would similarly qualify.

If they win a region title, they would receive a proposed one time 10% supplement bonus. If they place third in state for team or individual, they would receive a proposed 15% supplement bonus. If they place second in state for team or individual, they would receive a proposed 20% supplement bonus, and if they place first in state for team or individual, they would receive a proposed 25% supplement bonus.

The bonuses would be paid after the last round of competition. This proposal would also allow for band staff and football cheer staff to qualify based on football results and basketball cheer staff would qualify based on basketball results.

Mitchell has two sons who attend BHS that participate in multiple sports and said he is in full support of awarding bonuses to coaches who take their team to a region title and beyond.

Mitchell pointed out that in 2015/2016 the school won the Region All- Sport Award, meaning six sports won region championships and it was the third time this has occurred in school history. He went on to list all sports that have had success this 2018/2019 school year thus far.

“When you look at the successes of our athletics over the past few years, I think all coaches should be rewarded for taking their team to region and state championships,” he said.

Mitchell said he is mindful that the coaches who continue to win tack on an extra four-five weeks of practice and coaching they may not have originally intended and deserve to be rewarded for that.

He finished by saying he hopes the BOE will take this into consideration and move forward with the proposal for bonuses for athletic coaches.