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Board debates approving coaches "pending" CPR/first-aid certification; agrees to wait for new handbook
Summary
Board members and administrators debated whether to approve coach appointments pending completion of CPR/first-aid certifications, weighing liability and timing of training dates; the board decided not to change practice until the new coaching handbook is finalized.
Board members spent an extended portion of the meeting debating whether to return to prior practice that allowed board approval of coaches pending final CPR and first-aid certification, or to require full certification before approval.
Board member Germaine noted current practice requiring certifications before board approval: "Currently if we have a coach or an assistant that is not certified, we are not approving them at board meetings until they're certified," she said, summarizing the existing approach and why it was adopted previously. The board discussed a history of coaches approved pending final paperwork who did not complete required training on time, creating liability and oversight concerns.
District staff and the athletic director had earlier asked whether the board would re-adopt a pending-approval option in limited cases when a coach has completed all credentials except a CPR/first-aid course offered after the board meeting. Jen, the staff member who tracks certifications, explained the district’s employment practice for instructional staff: "We do hire sometimes teacher assistants that are not certified and they have up to 12 months to receive their teaching certification," she said, describing differences in hiring practice between instructional staff and extracurricular coaches.
Board members pressed on the liability difference between classroom staff and coaches: one board member said, "As a parent that's a huge concern for me," describing a scenario in which a coach without CPR/first-aid training might be present when a student is injured. Administrators responded that the district’s athletic staff could prevent an uncertified person from being on the field before completing required training, and that the athletic director had proposed approving coaches pending the final CPR/first-aid date but ensuring they do not work with students until certified.
After discussion the board agreed to defer any change until the new coaching handbook is finalized, saying members preferred to review explicit, documented procedures for a pending-approval pathway. Several board members asked that the handbook address timelines, the district’s process for ensuring completion of required training and the athletic director’s authority to keep uncertified staff off the field.
The board did not adopt a new policy at this meeting; members asked administration and the athletic director to include a clear pending-approval process and supervisory safeguards in the coaches handbook under development.
