Coaching salaries questioned at Blue Ridge

Two Blue Ridge junior high wrestling coaches said they were handed everything to do the job, except for the paper to sign in order to get paid for it.
At the Jan. 16 meeting, the board voted against approving a salary of $901.25 each for Timothy Esposito and Joseph Pipitone for the Junior High Wrestling Coaching position.
At Monday night’s work session, Esposito said that in the future he hoped the situation would be bettered handled and that he would like to see a change in the structure of how coaching salaries are allocated.
Pipitone told the board he started as a volunteer two years ago for the program after answering a call from his former Blue Ridge wrestling coach, Dean Lewis.
He said that in the past two years the team, and the booster club, has been fighting to rebuild the program. “You learn as a wrestler you don’t get on your back. It’s hard to fight back (from that position). The booster club is working hard to come back.”
Pipitone said he and Esposito had been working together to coach and administrate the junior high program, and had been service the team in the full capacity as coaches. As coaches and former Blue Ridge wrestlers, he said the two of them stepped up because they did not want to see the school’s wresting program fail.
He also told the board that he was under the impression that receiving payment for the position was not an issue. Pipitone said he felt disappointed, let down and taken advantage of, but also felt the situation arose from a breakdown in communication.
Esposito, Pipitone and booster club member Kathy Roe also advocated for increased salaries for coaching positions in the district to bring them on par with surrounding schools.
Boardmember Christina Whitney said they had done salary comparisons. “You’re not wrong,” she said. “We need to look at the process going forward.”
Board President Christopher Lewis apologized for the situation. He said the district would be looking at coaching salaries in the next year’s budget process.
Lewis also addressed a situation arising from a state police incident appearing in the Jan. 25 Susquehanna County Independent regarding a threat made by a student at the school.
Lewis said board members were immediately notified of the incident by the superintendent and that the district followed the proper protocol, as per the handbook. He also said the police followed the proper protocol and that the district attorney chose not to prosecute the matter.
“At no time was there a threat to students,” Lewis said. He added that student discipline is confidential and that a press release was “not going to happen.”
District Business Manager Brian Dolan reviewed the budget process timeline with the board. A preliminary budget is expected to be presented to the board in March.
The Blue Ridge Board of Education will hold its regular business meeting on Monday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m., in the elementary school cafeteria.