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Bangor board approves adding varsity assistant coaches to address staffing inequities
Summary
The Bangor School District Board approved adding optional "varsity assistant" positions across varsity sports to address coaching inequities and staffing shortages; administration estimated the targeted change would cost roughly $7,000 this year and be managed within the existing budget.
The Bangor School District Board voted to allow districts to add a "varsity assistant" position across varsity sports after trustees debated equity, staffing and budget implications.
Administration presented a proposal that would create a 5%‑of‑base stipend for varsity assistants (head coaches budgeted at 10% and assistants at 7%). The superintendent said the change is intended to address uneven compensation and gaps in coverage across programs such as football, basketball, track, cross country, baseball and softball and to make opportunities more equitable for coaches and students. "If we get lots more numbers in football, can we justify adding another coach? I think we can," the superintendent said during the discussion.
Trustees raised sport‑specific questions: how C teams and JV teams factor into staffing, how small rosters should be handled, and whether the district should automatically permit varsity assistants or require a request tied to current team size. Lisa said she did not intend to simply add pay across the board after coaches found out about changes late last season; she described the proposal as a corrective move to avoid coaches losing compensation without advance notice.
Administration acknowledged earlier, broader calculations suggested a large districtwide cost, but said a targeted approach would keep first‑year impact manageable. Documents shared with trustees referenced line‑item figures (the proposal document lists amounts in the low tens of thousands for some positions and identifies a representative $21,000–$23,165 line, with an individual varsity assistant stipend noted near $2,165), and the superintendent summarized an estimated net budget impact of about $7,000 for the current year if applied selectively.
Lisa moved to approve the addition of varsity assistant coaches "to whatever teams that we discussed," and the motion was seconded; the board approved the change by voice vote.
The board directed administration (Brian, Paul and district athletics staff) to work with coaches to implement the adjustments and bring any necessary updates back to trustees. Administrators said the schedule C document will continue to be reviewed and can be adjusted year to year as program sizes change.
The motion carried; trustees did not request a recorded roll‑call tally.
