Athletics director reports rising participation, low suspension rates and plans for new league site

Othello School District’s director of student engagement and athletics, Carlos Gonzales, told the board the district is seeing strong sports participation and has tightened eligibility and clearance systems to reduce suspensions.

Gonzales reported that across McFarland (middle school) and Othello High School the district recorded roughly 1,336 athlete-season participations this year and currently staffs about 147 coaching positions across fall, winter and spring. He said only about 6 percent of flagged high‑school students went on probation and about 3 percent were suspended, with most students moving off suspension after interventions.

Gonzales described operational improvements: weekly eligibility checks tied to Skyward and homeroom monitoring, expanded use of FinalForms for medical clearance and communications, and a new league-hosted athletics website using Arbiter that will link schedules, ticketing (GoFan) and live streaming. He said the district moved away from a problematic third‑party site and expects the Arbiter-linked site to launch in December.

On staffing and certification: Gonzales said the district requires coaches to complete sport‑specific training, concussion/sudden cardiac arrest protocols, CPR and first aid, and coach‑education courses before working with students. He also noted the district relies on volunteers who must meet required training standards.

Board members asked whether Gonzales handles all coach hiring and whether the new athletics site will link from the district website; Gonzales said he participates in hiring for head and assistant coaches when available and expects the new domain to be integrated with the district site once control is returned from the prior vendor.

Provenance: Gonzales’ presentation and subsequent Q&A during the superintendent informational items.