‘Success bonuses’ implemented for Gilmer High School coaches
The county’s educators will see a little more money in their monthly paycheck while coaches at Gilmer High will be rewarded for postseason berths and advancement.
The Gilmer County Board of Education unanimously approved all pay increases and bonuses at its June regular meeting. They will be funded by the school system’s general fund, and its estimated July 1 balance was $26.3 million.
Certified staff are in line to receive a 1-percent increase in their local supplement from 12 percent to 13. Certified employees include teachers, administrators and others who require certification for their position. This will cost the school system approximately $260K for fiscal year 2026.
Additionally, all special education teachers and paraprofessionals received a one-time bonus of $600. The approximate cost is $60K.
Coaches at GHS are set to be rewarded for qualifying and advancement in the state playoffs, which the system has deemed a “success bonus.” The bonus includes six tiers of achievement, and they are not cumulative. Coaches only receive the bonus for the highest state advancement achieved.
The bonus tier amounts were devised by county athletic director Paul Standard, GHS athletic director Matt Johnson and district leaders. Part of the bonus formulation arose from applying recent performances to the proceeding levels.
“My first year here I discussed some things with (superintendent) Dr. (Brian) Ridley and some board members about ways to help with the retention of your coaching staff,” Standard said. “You want to be able to hire and keep good people and make it worthwhile for our coaches who put in so much time coaching everybody’s children.”
Qualification to the postseason will include a $600 bonus for head coaches and $300 for each assistant. Bonuses increase with each round and are as follows: Sweet 16 ($1,200 head coach/$600 per assistant), Elite Eight ($1,800/$900), Final Four ($2,400/$1,200), state runners-up ($3,000/$1,500) and state champions ($3,600/$1,800).
Wrestling, competition cheer, track, cross-country, golf and dance are without five bracketed playoff rounds, and their final placement at state will coincide with the equivalent bonus.
Wrestling awards a duals and traditional state championship each year, and its bonus is based on which finish is higher. The boys and girls cross-country, track and golf teams are coached by the same individuals, and their bonus is also based on the higher placement at the state meet.
“None of us coaches are in this business for the money,” Standard said. “We’re doing it because we love the sport we coach and because of what teaching and coaching athletics does for our young people, and we love working with young people. That’s why we do this. We’re overwhelmingly grateful to our board for approving this.
“Very rarely in our area do you see other schools doing this. There are places where booster clubs reward the coaches, but that’s outside of the school system. Here you have the school system saying to those who take the time to coach and spend an inordinate amount of time with student athletes that we’re going to reward you for your hard work and success.”
If the success bonus structure were in place for the 2024-25 school year, the cost would have totaled $28,800. Girls wrestling would have been awarded a total of $4,800 for its third-place duals finish followed by boys wrestling ($4,500), boys soccer ($3,600), football ($3,300), girls basketball ($3K), girls soccer ($1,800), baseball ($1,800), track ($1,800), cross-country, ($1,500), boys basketball ($1,200), golf ($900) and dance ($600).
In the five years prior to 2024-25, yearly bonus totals would have amounted to: 2019-2020 ($13,800), 2020-21 ($19,200), 2021-22 ($15,900), 2022-23 ($19,500) and 2023-24 ($20,700).
Also, GHS coaches received a 1-percent increase to their annual coaching supplement for each year they coach the same sport. That was previously passed by the board of education and in effect for 2024-25.
“In a lot of systems, a coach is given a certain amount of money, and that supplement may never change for several years regardless of how long they’ve coached that sport or how much success they’ve had,” said Standard. “You don’t have to go back and redraw or revisit supplements when you’ve got a built-in little increase every year. It’s not a huge increase, but it shows the coaches we care and appreciate what they’re doing. Our board under the guidance of Dr. Ridley approved that and wanted it to be a reality.
“There are not many school systems that have a policy like this. It’s nice to be rewarded for your longevity and willingness to continue in a position as a coach. Our coaches are so excited and grateful for these two policies. It’s great for morale, and I think it’s going to be great for retention and the recruitment of new coaches to our school system.”