Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County Staff Writer

Greenwood schools will keep most academic and athletics coaches, but they will be paid less.

School officials have rethought part of the proposed budget cuts that would have eliminated dozens of coaching positions throughout the district.

Instead, they plan to eliminate up to five coaching positions in programs with low participation and that already have head coaches.

The remaining nearly 200 coaching positions, ranging from high school football and basketball coaches to sponsors for middle school and high school Spell Bowl teams, will take a pay cut.

The cut will be the same percent for all the stipends offered to teachers, in addition to their salary, when they coach a sport or sponsor an extracurricular program. In total, the stipends cost the district more than $378,000 per year, Superintendent David Edds said.

The school district had to cut about $1 million from its $23.7 general fund budget, which pays salaries, utilities and other operating costs, after the state cut funding to school districts statewide.

More than $740,000 is being cut by freezing administrators pay and having them pay more for health insurance, getting rid of school crossing guards and eliminating three teaching positions through retirements and resignations, four or more non-special education teacher's aid positions and three custodian positions.

Initially, officials proposed cutting more than $90,000 by eliminating about one-third of the district's academic and athletics coaches.

Now, officials believe they still can cut a similar amount by keeping nearly all of the coaching positions and reducing the pay, Edds said.

And they plan to look for other ways to cut costs, including closing buildings on certain days to save money on utilities, since more shortfalls are expected in future years, he said.

Edds wants the school board to consider closing school buildings, including the administrative office, on Fridays during the summer. If the idea saved money this summer, Edds also wants the school board to consider closing buildings on Sundays during the school year, he said.

With the change to the stipend payments, officials still expect to meet their goal of cutting about $800,000 and make up the rest of the shortfall with money from savings, Edds said.

The school board unanimously approved $740,455 in cuts on Tuesday.

School board members said they were pleased with the district's budget-reduction plan because it did not include any teacher layoffs.

"None of us like the position we're in, but it's reality and we have to deal with it. Everybody has to sacrifice, and I know it's painful, but I think we're fortunate," school board member Joe Farley said.

School officials still are negotiating the change in coaching stipend amounts with the teachers union and hope to have final numbers by April, Edds said.

The public and schools were concerned about the potential loss of some programs if a sponsor is cut and school officials worried some teachers were planning to continue coaching without any pay, which could violate labor laws, Edds said.

Those two reasons prompted officials to reduce the stipend amounts, instead of cutting some altogether, Edds said.

"We had to start somewhere," he said. "What we're doing now is more equitable and fair for everybody."

Parents and teachers attended Tuesday's school board meeting to ask officials to reconsider their plan because of concerns programs would be eliminated. They were pleased to see the district is planning to change its proposal.

"I'm proud to hear you're doing this, rather than picking and choosing what to delete. We are teaching those kids," said Brian Brown, a Southwest Elementary School teacher and coach.

Initially, officials planned to save more than $90,000 by eliminating the stipends for certain coaches and sponsors, including assistant tennis, cross country and freshman sports coaches, spell bowl coaches and sponsors for programs including the Key Club, Sunshine Society and Thespian Club.

Now, the district plans to eliminate between three and five coaching positions, such as assistant coaches for sports programs that can operate with just a head coach, Edds said.

And stipends for other programs will get an across-the-board percentage cut, an amount which has not yet been agreed upon by the school district and teachers union, Edds said.

The two have to reach an agreement because the coaching stipends are included in teachers contracts, Edds said.

That also was one reason why the district decided to reduce the pay instead of eliminating coaching positions, he said.

School officials heard teachers would volunteer to coach and sponsor programs without being paid. But since the stipends are included in teachers contracts, allowing them to continue coaching without being paid could violate labor laws, Edds said.

Currently, the stipends range from $548 per year for elementary student council and middle school science and chess club sponsors to $7,126 per year for high school head football and boys and girls basketball coaches.