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Board hears multiple athletics items: stipends, boys' lacrosse coach request and proposed Geisinger trainer contract
Summary
Administrators requested new and increased stipends for advisors and summer staff, a paid assistant coach for boys' lacrosse, and reviewed a proposed three-year athletic-training contract with Geisinger that raises the district’s cost but adds hours and staffing guarantees.
Danville Area School District administrators presented several athletics and extracurricular items, asking the board to consider stipend adjustments, an additional paid assistant for boys’ lacrosse and a new three-year contract for athletic trainers with Geisinger.
Doctor Gump outlined three stipend requests for high-school extracurriculars: a $449.50 stipend for a DHS Fire Club adviser (Devin Frank), an increase in student-council advisor stipends by reallocating vacant positions so four active advisors would receive $19.98 and 50¢ each (an increase from $11.42), and a summer weight-room supervisor stipend of $2,163 for the summer term. He said these changes would not increase the total budget because funds would be reallocated from vacant positions.
On coaching, Gump and board members discussed adding a paid assistant coach for boys’ lacrosse to bring paid-coach ratios closer to those in other sports. Gump said the lacrosse program’s current paid-coach-to-player ratio is markedly higher than girls’ lacrosse and asked the board if it would authorize creating and posting a paid assistant position; board members signaled support for adding the position and staff said they would post and return names to the board in April.
The board also reviewed a proposed three-year agreement with Geisinger for athletic-training services. Lance Mabus presented the contract terms and said Geisinger is proposing 2 trainers at 2,800 total hours (1,400 hours per trainer) and that staff negotiated language so that if Geisinger cannot staff two trainers the district would pay only half the contract amount. The proposed contract sum in the packet is $101,212.694.40 with annual increases of 3%.
Mabus said the new contract separates an earlier $10,500 marketing discount from the trainer-services agreement and that staffing consistency has been an issue in past years; Geisinger management provided a plan to deliver two trainers next year. The cost increase is already reflected in the district’s preliminary expenditure figures.
Why it matters: stipend adjustments affect the distribution of existing funds for extracurricular supervision; adding a paid assistant coach modifies coaching supervision and safety ratios for a contact sport; and the athletic-training contract affects recurring operational costs for student-athlete health coverage.
Next steps: staff will post any approved coaching position, return recommended candidates to the board for approval in April and bring the Geisinger contract forward for formal action after any remaining questions are resolved.
Ending: the board received the requests for next-week agenda placement and asked staff to proceed with candidate posting and contract follow-up.
