Harrison County work session puts assistant middle-school coaches in budget book, weighs supplements and vehicle policy

Harrison County Board of Education members at a budget work session on April 20 instructed staff to place an option to fund assistant middle-school coaches ("Option B") into the 2025–26 budget book and heard staff briefings on a range of personnel and policy questions that could affect the district’s contingency balance.

The direction to include Option B came during discussion of an updated administrative supplemental-pay schedule and extracurricular pay. Board members and staff described two budget presentation choices (Option A: broader changes; Option B: assistant middle-school coaches only). With no formal adoption during the work session, board members indicated no objection to adding Option B to the published budget materials; the formal budget hearing is scheduled for May 6 and adoption is set for the May 20 regular meeting.

Why it matters: including the assistant-coach supplement in the budget reduces the district’s contingency reserve and creates an ongoing personnel cost if later adopted. Staff told the board the amount shown in the packet for the assistant-coach option would be about $35,000 in total and that shifting the item into personnel from contingency would create a recurring cost in subsequent years.

Details of the coach proposal and contingency impact

Staff presented two options for the supplemental pay schedules. Option B would add assistant middle-school coach stipends based on team roster size (the packet used a roster threshold of more than 20 students to trigger the assistant-coach supplement). Staff estimated the maximum exposure for Option B at roughly $35,000…