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Board weighs volleyball program path, coach-pay proposal as students and parents press for a team
Summary
Administrators presented participation data showing average 19 check-ins per session and recommended continuing intramural play; students, parents and volunteers urged a formal club or school team and the superintendent proposed coach-pay changes tied to league averages, promising a revised matrix for the board to review.
The Jersey Shore Area School District board on Feb. 9 discussed the future of volleyball in the district after a fall season of open gyms and participation tracking. Bill Mintzer presented participation metrics: 359 duplicated check-ins over the program period representing 65 students and an average of 19 attendees per session, with subsets meeting different consistency thresholds (for example, eight students attended 70% or more of sessions). Mintzer said the numbers suggested viability for continued intramural play and a parent-funded club that could compete interscholastically if the board approved.
Students, parents and volunteer organizers urged the board to formalize a team. Student Josephine Renninger said an official team would allow students to translate club skills into interschool matches and noted a competitive roster can begin with 10'14 players. Volunteer organizer Josh Smith said open-gym attendance showed a core group and advocated for a club team funded and organized by parents with school support on scheduling.
Mintzer also proposed changes to coaches' salaries, citing averages from the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference. His draft would move head coaches toward league averages over a multi-year cycle and included a uniform $125 across-the-board element; board members asked Mintzer to preserve the district's salary matrix (which uses percentage relationships between head and assistant coaches) and requested the league-average column and a revised matrix showing how raises would flow to assistant coaches. Mintzer agreed to provide updated spreadsheets and formulas before board action.
Quotes from the meeting: "I think the participation suggests viability," Mintzer said of the volleyball open gyms. "We had a core group of 20 that were there consistently," volunteer organizer Josh Smith said, asking the board to support transitioning to a club or official team.
Next steps: administrators will provide updated salary-matrix proposals, and community members were invited to remain for the courtesy-of-the-floor public-comment segment, where multiple speakers advocated for an official volleyball program.
