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Prosser district says middle-school combo teams will end in 2025–26; coaches and association reach temporary MOUs for C teams
Summary
The district told the board that cost and transportation challenges mean the mixed "A/B combo" middle-school teams will not continue in 2025–26. High-school 'C-squad' arrangements will depend on student numbers and an MOU that splits or alters coach pay; several coaches agreed temporary pay changes to preserve teams.
Prosser School District administrators told the board on June 11 that the district will not offer grade A/B combo middle-school teams in 2025–26 because of transportation costs and staffing logistics.
Kim (Staff member) explained the decision as financial and operational. “The main thing is the cost for transportation and then, of course, the cost of the coaches,” Kim said. Officials said combo teams require separate buses and extra scheduling, which increased expenses and became harder to staff with available drivers.
For high-school "C-squad" teams — lower-tier or development squads that sometimes accompany varsity travel — the district said it negotiated memoranda of understanding with the Prosser Coaches Association to preserve programs where possible. The arrangement means some teams will only run if student participation and funding justify it; some coaches agreed to split or reduce pay temporarily to allow a C-squad to operate. Kim said in several sports "the varsity coach, the assistant coach gave up 20 or 25% of their salary to fund the coach." In other cases, teams opted to wait and fill coaching positions when enrollment and budget are confirmed.
The district also said it sought guidance from the league (WIAA) about volunteer officials and learned volunteers without association credentials were not allowed, constraining staffing options. Kim told the board the district would not provide separate buses for C-squad travel unless funding and student counts justified it.
Board members and district staff framed the changes as preserving as much programming as possible while reducing transportation-driven expense. The Prosser Coaches Association, represented by Teresa Barrotta and others, worked with district administrators to craft team-specific MOUs that define funding and coach-pay adjustments; the association’s role was described in board comments but no board vote was required for the informational update.
Administrators said definitive high-school coaching contracts will be issued once budget figures are finalized; the board will consider budgets and related staffing decisions in the August budget approval process.
