In dollars, coaches beat teachers in Texas; $$73,804 vs $42,400,

[Ichingcarpenter]

Football coaches in the state's largest high schools generally earn significantly larger salaries than the state's teachers do, even many with graduate degrees and decades of experience.

Head coaches in Classes 5A and 4A - schools with 950 students or more - are making an average of $73,804 while teachers in those classifications average close to $42,400, according to records obtained by the Austin American-Statesman through the Texas Public Information Act.

Those numbers are similar to findings from 10 years ago, when The Associated Press reported that 5A and 4A coaches earned an average of $54,000 per year and the state's teachers averaged $31,000. Adjusting for inflation, the gap between teachers' and coaches' salaries has widened by 7.3 percent over the past 10 years. The 1995 salaries in today's dollars would be $69,488 for coaches and $40,207 for teachers.

Some of the findings from the 461 schools include:

* Five coaches in the state earn more than $100,000, with the largest salary going to Ennis High School's Sam Harrell, who earns $106,004.

* The lowest-paid coach is Houston Furr's Cornell Gray, who earns $42,300.

* Art Briles was the highest-paid coach in 1995-96, earning $82,658 at Stephenville High School. However, in today's dollars, Briles' 1995 salary would be $105,926. That would make Briles, currently the University of Houston coach, him the state's second-highest-paid coach, behind Harrell.

* Twenty-seven schools pay their football coaches more than they pay their principals, including Copperas Cove, where Head Coach Jack Welch earns $14,465 more than the principal, George Willey.

* The 10 highest-paid coaches in 2005-06 have combined to win seven state championships since 2000.

* Southlake Carroll Coach Todd Dodge, whose teams are 63-1 the past four years, ranks 36th on the salary list, earning $90,510.


http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/highschool/08/27salary.html

[DFW]

1. Why do you think Texas votes Republican so often?

Well-educated people ask questions. People whose brains have been jarred by four
years of slamming into things instead of math, English and science tests, less so.

We do have islands of liberalism in Texas, but their situation is as precarious
as the Maldives--the waters are rising and threaten to engulf us.

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. My son was born in Austin

I was making a point that its big business
Other States also has the disparity too

[DFW]

4. Texas isn't unique

But it is rather glaring, nonetheless. Actually, Austin is considered one of
those islands in Texas where the right-wing herd mentality is not universal.

My daughters, fortunately, were born and raised in Germany, where learning still
has a priority over sports in schools.

[Marrah_G]

22. Texas has a reputation for being a little nutty over football

It is nothing like that where I live.

[izquierdista]

9. Liberalism in Texas

I guess it's a matter of perspective. I tend to view it as the lost city of Atlantis.

[DFW]

10. Just because we don't have a say in anything doesn't mean we aren't there

[LastConservativeDem]

27. LIberalism in Texas

Texas has a nice balance of Liberals, Conservatives and independents. It does take all opinions to float the boat.

[MercutioATC]

3. Unfortunately, it's economics.

I'm not a sports person, so this isn't a fan issue...it's just reality.

In areas of the country where sports are a big thing (like Texas) the alumni want to see winning sports teams. If they get what they want, they donate.

You can bet that the schools are getting a good return on the investment in their coaches.

[Goblinmonger]

25. I might take that bet

It seems to me that most of the money that comes in goes right back into the football program. Most of the best high school programs have stadiums and facilities that would put a DII college program to shame.

[deaniac21]

34. Many of the schools in Texas have average crowds of 20,000

or more for all games. They be making that money.

[bluestateguy]

5. I heard that some schools have the booster club pay part of the coach's salary

At least that's how it works on the TV show "Friday Night Lights".

[RB TexLa]

7. They do because revenue from sports goes directly to the school district.

Most of the school districts reward the coaches that fill the coffers as noted in the article but with the booster clubs there is always someone willing to pay more.

Also the money that a powerhouse football school generates does not go solely back to them, it's spread through the district.

[Dinger]

33. Oh, So I Guess It's O.K. Then To Pay Coaches More

And with the BILLIONS that was taken out of the Senate's version of the stimulus package, things are just peachy.
Cool:sarcasm:

[Raskolnik]

47. I don't think you understand the point.

While a coach making more than a teacher doesn't sit right with most reasonably people on its face, there are a lot of situations in which a coach's salary may be augmented by donors, thus accounting for the discrepency.

Do you understand?

[Dinger]

61. Yup, Thanks

Hot head Ding again, sorry.

[RB TexLa]

6. I know three that are either football coaches or AD's who also draw their Louisiana teachers

retirement putting them well over the $100,000.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

8. Of course they do!

Playing HS football is the all-Amurrican way to kick people's asses and beat them up. There is no more American lesson to be taught than that might is right 100 times out of 100 as long as you give Jeebus a namecheck after tearing someone's head off. Football makes MEN; those goddam English teachers make pansies. Only commie fags think that intelligence is more important than violence.

I trust that the sarcasm icon is not needed here. And I do like the NFL.

This is, in reality, about as shameful and disheartening a comment on the state of American society as can be imagined.

[exboyfil]

11. The biggest complaint I have with coaches is when they teach

vital subjects. I had a rigorous 7th grade Honors English class when I was a kid. My daughter has a coach. He is a nice guy, but I am amazed at the lack of literature requirements for the class.

Leave coaches to teach PE, Health, and Drivers Ed. I want teachers whose passion lies in the subject teaching Math, Science, English, History, and the Fine/Industrial Arts.

[kiva]

14. Agreed. I'm just surprised he teaches English.

As I've posted elsewhere, most seem to teach history and do so by making students memorize names, dates, and places and (not surprisingly) learn to hate history.

[Marrah_G]

18. I think that you really can't generalize like that.

There are plenty of good teachers who also are good coaches.

My father was an amazing teacher, head of the math and science departments in a Mass. Town (Westwood)

He put his heart and soul into teaching those kids.

He brought computers into the HS in the 60's. Then PC's in the 70's. Apples in the 80's.

He taught public HS for 45 years.

Over those years he taught Drivers Ed, taught North Eastern night classes, Coached basketball at times, helped out with football games, taught summer school, etc.

he never got rich, but he loved what he did.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

23. Agreed. Some of my coaches were/are honors level english, math, etc. teachers.

[Ichingcarpenter]

24. I didn't generalize I posted the facts

about Texas paying its coaches more than teachers

[Marrah_G]

36. I was responding to someone elses post.

[girl gone mad]

53. The best teacher I ever had was a football coach.

In the heart of a Republican suburb in Texas.

He was very liberal, very smart and great at making the subject relevant.

You're right, people shouldn't generalize.

[exboyfil]

65. Point taken - I should not generalize

I guess I was responding to my two occurences with coaches teaching vital subjects. My daughter's teacher is a nice guy, and I guess I am more complaining about the nature of the class (my high performing kid who reads at a 12th grade level) being in a class of mixed performers. You can tell he is obviously distracted by his coaching duties, and his passion lies there. I contrast him to by Jr. High English teacher who had a Masters + in the subject and instilled a real passion for literature into me.

My other time when this happened was with my High School biology class. He was one of the nicest guys you would ever meet, but I knew more biology than he did (except when we moved to physiology of the human body - he had that down cold).

My Drivers Ed teacher was also a coach, and he was hilarious. Some people should never be Drivers Ed teachers, and you could tell he was terrified whenever he took any of the students out on their drives (maybe they are all like this). Talk about your high stress jobs.

[Marrah_G]

68. Yeah I think you had some teachers who probably would have been great gym teachers

My dad used to teach driver's ed also, for the town. When I was little he had one driver's ed car that was red. I thought it was the Driver Red car. I was thoroughly confused when it was traded in for a green one.......

[tammywammy]

41. I had an awesome high school biology teacher

That led our varsity volleyball team (5A school) to win the state championship.

This is in Texas.

[Raskolnik]

48. Some aren't very good, some are.

I had a very good football coach who happened to be a very good advanced bio teacher.

[Thothmes]

63. At my High School, the football coach taught

the German Language. Not a bad match, he was from Germany. He was a good coach too.

[SeattleGirl]

12. Of course they do.

Football is the State's Religion in Texas.

Disgusting, but still true.

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. What would happen if a school found the very best science teacher it could,

What would happen if a school found the very best science teacher it could, offered her a salary high enough to lure her to work, let her order the best new lab equipment and paid her extra to spend a couple of hours every afternoon working intensively with 40 students, following up with their parents if necessary to make sure they were getting the support they needed at home, checking in with other teachers to make sure they were doing fine in other classes? Or if the school did the same for a first-grade reading teacher?

Think we'd see dramatic improvement in the test scores – and the life outcomes – of those 40 kids?

What if every school in the state did this? Think we'd see state averages increasing? Think we'd see parents getting involved to make sure their kids were among the select 40 chosen for these extras?

Many of our schools already do something like that: It's called the high school football program. The most athletic boys get intensive attention and instruction, not in academics but in athletics. As The Sun News and The State recently found, more and more coaches' salaries are approaching and surpassing six figures, while taxpayers foot the bill for half-million-dollar stadiums and all that football equipment that coaches say they have to spend so much time in the off-season ordering.

Now, we have no reason to believe that football coaches do not do enough work to earn their pay.

[ozu]

17. The difference being

that high school football is the goto activity of choice for a lot of these towns on the weekend. It generates big money for the school districts whereas that expensive science teacher is likely net negative.

It's not pretty, but that's the way it works.

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. That's why the US is falling behind the rest of the world in Math and Science

I say its not working very well

[Winterblues]

15. Betcha women coaches don't make anywhere near that much.

Great indicator of the sickness that is America.

[Marrah_G]

16. I am not sure how it works there but this is what I have to add

My guy is a football coach. He coaches Defense.

The Head Coach earns a certain amount from the town.

From that he then pays the 4 or 5 guys below him.

ALL of the coaches have primary jobs.

NONE of them are getting rich.

[Moostache]

26. Not to belittle your guy, but...

to be blunt he is not the problem, only a symptom of that problem.

The problem itself is that your guy can't get a part-time after-hours gig tutoring in Physics and Engineering because this sick carcass of a society we live in has absolutely no value of learning or science or advancements that could shape mankind and build an actual better future. Better to maintain the superstitious beliefs and inherent power structure of the "Church" / religion as lap-dog and slave to the upper class.

For full disclosure purposes I did play HS football and did suffer a knee injury while doing so - which was made worse by the pain pills I was given at halftime to allow me to play out the game in which the injury occurred; but I still watch the game on TV at the NFL and college levels. I do not hate football or athletics and I am a scientist by trade and training (holding a BS in Biochemistry from Indiana University).

I still HATE the total lack of societal proportionality placed on it though. That holds true for ALL forms of entertainment - movies, music, athletes, TV anchors, pundits, etc...

The true sickness is the lack of interest in what could have truly consequential impacts on humanity (say 1/2 of the attention that goes to entertainment was channeled into science and encouraging young minds to tackle significant problems all the time - like global warming solutions, energy generation issues, population control issues, agricultural optimization without petro-inputs? Wouldn't those serve the collective good at least enough to warrant a HS "assistant Science Coach" position?

Not the world we live in I guess, just the world that we will die in...

[Marrah_G]

31. He couldn't tutor Physics anyway...LOL

He works for an airline, has for a quarter century. he coaches because he loves to coach. He loves football, he loves the time he spends with the kids. Don't belittle the effect a good coach can have on a kid.

My point is that although it may be WAY out of balance in some places, it is fine in others.

My sons coach is also head of the Cullinary Arts dept in my town. My sons Drama coach is also his Physics teacher. Thats how our town does things.

Both these men have very positive effects on my sons lives.

My son's Sensei is a HUGE part of our lives and has done an enormous amount to make my sons the man he is.

Yes, sports can have a negative effect in some places, but not everywhere.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. I assume these high-paid coaches also teach?

If so, they are working two jobs. The coaches I knew worked year-round in several sports which meant they worked late almost every day of the year including weekends. Most of them worked the summer programs.

The coaches I knew worked some really long hours.

[Marrah_G]

21. I do not know one coach lower then college that doesn't have a primary job.

Coaching is always a second job, done not for the money, but for the love of the kids and the game.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

28. Nothing Really Wrong With That In Reality. It Makes Sense.

Like someone else said, it's about economics. A sports team has a large following and a good one brings in a lot of money. The coaches are paid more because their skills bring in more. Comparing coaches to teachers is apples to oranges. They serve completely different functions with completely different parameters. Makes a nice article, but is no true comparison in reality.

[Quantess]

43. It does show the priorities of our society.

I disagree with your opinion about the rightness or wrongness of it, but like it or not, this is what American culture is about.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

44. No, Not Really In The Way You're Making It.

Once again, the two are incomparable. Has nothing to do with priorities.

Teachers make an appropriate salary. Coaches make more because they also bring in income and serve a completely different purpose with their skills. In com par a ble

[Quantess]

45. The priority is sports over academics.

It's pretty obvious.
The unglamorous need for academics can't stand up to the popular demand of sports. The money is in sports, not book learning.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

51. Ridiculous Argument.

You're trying to wage a position that people should be lining up in stadiums and buying tickets, hot dogs, shirts, apparel, etc just to see a teacher. That's beyond unrealistic and illogical.

The two are incomparable. Some are trying to act as if the money is all from the same pool. As if the choice is pay this money to the teacher or pay this money to a coach. Doesn't work like that though. The coach helps bring in the additional money that he makes, whereas the teacher doesn't. Some are using way too simplistic of a thinking process to express their poutrage over this. Doesn't take much broadening of one's mind to see the situation a bit more clearly though.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

59. What's the profit margin for highschool sports teams?

[Le Taz Hot]

69. Teachers make an appropriate salary?

In WHAT universe? In order to get a B.A. in Education AND a teaching credential (in CA, you go through a year of UNPAID student teaching) it takes at least 6 years. The requirements to KEEP your credentials requires continuing education at the university level. Every semester. Every year. Year after year. There are teachers who get out of college that are offered a whopping salary of $25,000 - $30,000 a year and you think that THAT is an appropriate salary? Can you name me ANY other field in which a person goes through 6+ years of education and gets paid so low? I certainly can't think of any.

[onetiredmom]

29. This is strictly from my experience.

I seriously dated a coach for 5 years and we had a hard time finding time to be together because he was (a) at the school at practice, (b) at games, (c) at away games, (d) at Saturday review of the games, (e) watching tapes of the games and upcoming teams, (f) at coaching school in the summers, (g) at booster club meetings, (h) etc etc etc. It was one of the big reasons we ended up not getting married, because I personally didn't want to share my family with sports.

All that did not include the regular classes he taught.

I am certainly not saying coaches are more important than teachers, as I was a teacher myself for 5 years. But if you divide their salary by the number of hours of their lives (and their families' lives) given to their coaching and teaching, it probably works out to about the same $ per hour.

[Marrah_G]

37. It's definitely not easy

I live an hour and a half from my guy.... During football season it's very tough, even more so now that my youngest plays football too.

People have no idea how much most put into it.

[MrsBrady]

30. When I was in high school

my Biology teacher was the Golf Coach? Yes.
I went to a high school that was right next to a country club.
Not many middle class kids in the school. I was one of the few.
Most were lower income or from wealth. Not much in between.

This guy was clearly part of the good ol' boy system.

He taught word for word from the text book. I'm not kidding.

[8 track mind]

32. i'm glad that this is finally getting press.

:rant:

I grew up in Paris, Texas. The football program and the coaches had priority over EVERYTHING in my school. They had all of the latest equipment and the coaches could do no wrong. The football players were some of the most uneducated students in my school, most of them reading on the 4th grade level in the 12th grade. The no pass no play rule was a freaking joke and most grades were simply "fixed" to enable the student to play. We had a saying at the time; He can't read, write, or add 2+2, but dammit he can throw a football!

The star of the football team in my junior year, skipped school, went across the border to oklahoma, bought 3 cases of beer, got totally drunk, rolled his truck on the way back, breaking the jaw of his passenger, and got off the hook scott fucking free and played football the next friday.

Texas needs to grow the fuck up and realize that football is a LOWER priority than a child's education. No wonder these stupid fucks i am surrounded by in this god forsaken state vote republican.





edited to clear up pissed off ranting

[Marrah_G]

39. Yuck

Sounds like Texas needs to get their priorities straight.

It's not like that around here.

If they don't make the grades, they don't play.

[8 track mind]

40. the story that i posted here

is just the tip of the iceberg. You would not belive what goes on.

In 1987 there was a senior football player that OD'ed on steriods (it might have been cocaine, details are a little fuzzy now) at my school when i was in the 8th grade. Did they use this as an example as to the dangers of drug use?

Fuck no. They dedicated the fucking weight room to him.

Texas schools are totally fucked up. The teen pregnancy rate was totally through the roof.

In the 7th grade, we had an openly gay student that went through pure hell at that place. The guy was actully quite cool to be around, but he had to endure teachers constantly trying to change him through religion and ridicule. The jocks and some of the asshole students would smack him up quite a bit and not one teacher would lift a finger to protect him. As far as they were concerned he deserved it because he was going against the laws of the bible. They would say "Oh you can't be like that! Don't you know you'll go to hell?" If you were seen hanging around him you were automaticly lumped into the same category and you would be subjected to the same crap at the hands of teachers and students. He left school after he got the living shit beat out of him. The school administration was glad to see that "deviant" leave.

That had a profound effect on me. I could not see the reason to put someone through that just strictly on the basis of sexual orentation (or skin color). The kid posed no threat to anyone, he was quite smart, and yet they treated him as if he was dipped in toxic waste. i vowed to never do that to anyone as long as i lived.

[moc]

49. My husband used to work in Paris one day per week

providing therapy to kids in therapeutic foster care. He got into it with one of the principals out there who couldn't understand that paddling might not be the best choice of discipline for a kid who had suffered prior physical/sexual abuse. Dh said the guy was a real Neanderthal.

[8 track mind]

55. I think i know who you are talking about.

What school system was it?

[moc]

58. I don't know for sure; I'd have to ask dh. He stopped going out there probably 3 years ago.

I thought it was the Paris school district, but it might have been a different one. The principal was a real ass, though. Dh said he acted like the high school (or it may have been a middle school) was his little kingdom, and he'd do with the kids what he damn well pleased.

[8 track mind]

60. ok

That sounds like the jerk i know. He was a part time baptist minister. total asshole.

[specialed]

35. And it shows......we've had two Presidents from Texas...

Both were monumental disasters.

[tammywammy]

42. And the two from California weren't great either.

:shrug:

[LanternWaste]

56. LBJ and.... the carpet baggers?

LBJ and.... the carpet baggers?

[girl gone mad]

67. We've only had one President from Texas..

and he was only half bad. He did sign the Civil Rights Act into Law and had the good sense not to run again when he fucked up with Vietnam.

[bobbert]

38. Our football coaches also taught phys ed or driver's ed

Or something along those lines. All of our sports coaches also taught classes. That may not be true at all schools, though. Our school was set up so that you got paid for your job (teaching), then you got paid extra for coaching the sport. It would make sense that if the average coach can do his job as well as the average teacher, then their pay should be higher based on the fact that he's putting in a lot of extra time.

3 hour practices 6 days a week.... Over the summer plus weightlifting in the offseason. They are coaching 10-11 months of the year (I think they're not allowed to coach them the whole summer)

[Rabrrrrrr]

46. Of course - it's the American ideal. Sports over knowledge, tribal competition over curiosity.

And top it all off with beating up the students from the other school, and maybe even occasionally setting the stadium on fire or rioting in the streets!

Fucking hilarious!!

And way better than actually teaching anyone anything, or giving props to the few kids with brains who do manage to learn even though the system is stacked against them.

[jxnmsdemguy65]

50. I always said that Obama's first executive order...

should have banned NASCAR and SEC football. I'll add high school football in all the former Confederate states to the list.

[Thothmes]

64. Lets ban every sport, lets outlaw vacations, foumula 1 racing

Indy racing, drag racing, shut down the giant amusement parks. He should also procribe movies. Maybe he should make hobbies illegal. Hell there is absolutily no reason that the American people should have any possible outlet to detract them from their unemployment, lost jobs, lack of health care. No we do not need any of that crap. Let them stay home and read books.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

52. "You can't be a real university without a football team".

I saw a letter in the Houston Chronicle that actually said this.
Someone else wrote in about the University of Chicago, Harvard and other schools that are focused on academics rather than sports.

Rice has a huge stadium and athletic program although they are a major science school.

[trayfoot]

54. This is not something unique to Texas! This travesty happens many places!

[PM Martin]

57. Welcome to Texas!

The home of George W. Bush and the Kennedy killers! :puke:

[jtrockville]

62. So their motto is "Brawn not brains"?

[cherish44]

66. The last time I cared about high school football was 1984

I'm from rural Illinois and am amazed at how bent out of shape people can get over a game played by a bunch of teenagers. I have nothing against high school athletics but way too much emphasis is placed on sports in school. My daughter has no interest in sports (much to my ex husband's disappointment) but I encourage her to do what she enjoys and to develop her own natural gifts and talents even if they're considered "geeky" right now. Athletic ability is only with you a short time but a sharp mind, creative ability, musical talent, etc. is something that'll stay with your whole of your life....

[aikoaiko]

70. I wonder if the results would be different if it included all coaches.

Or if they compared football coaches to the most well paid teachers (e.g., science teachers)

[ourbluenation]

71. IN my husbands school district they all make the same, boys and girls sports...

the only variation is if you coach varsity or jv. and let me say all you get, tops, is a $2,500 seasonal stipend. I don't know about Texas, but I'd bet everywhere else coaching is a labor of love.