Virginia Governor Proposes Elimination Of Pay To HS Coaches

By Dallas Jackson, Rivals High Senior Analyst

Recently elected Virginia governor Bob McDonnell on Thursday proposed numerous cuts to state education - including the elimination of pay to high school coaches.

McDonnell said it's part of his plan to balance the budget in his state.

But one coach, Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale head football coach Vic Williams (pictured here), says the governor is off the mark.

"His statement, however na? he may be, is false," Williams said.

At least in Chesterfield County, where Williams says the government does not have money earmarked for athletics.

"I spoke to a member of our general assembly who told me the governor spoke out of turn," Williams said. "He expects that the language will be changed in the proposal."

McDonnell, elected last November while making a pledge to not raise taxes, has spent much of his first few months in office meeting with top leaders in the Virginia House and Senate over the state's financial problems. His announcement detailed how he proposes to balance the budget in the state, which he says is expected to have a $4 billion revenue shortfall through 2012.

The cuts, he said, were not easy.

"All of them were difficult because I know that behind every cut there is a Virginian - somebody in this room or somebody out of the 7.8 million people we have - that might be affected by that," he said.

The proposal of cutting the pay for high school coaches is the latest way budget woes are impacting high school sports across the country.

Some areas are cutting sports - or reducing the number of teams it has in each sport, such as dropping freshman programs. Others are considering pay-to-play rules where parents would need to pick up some or all of the costs of operating the teams.

"I don't think pay-to-play will happen in this county," Williams said. "That money would go straight to the coaches supplement and that isn't a good message to send."

Williams, who has lived in Chesterfield County his whole life and claims to know "everyone in town" thinks that if the state does not offer as much funding to schools it could cost coaches.

"I got a $3800 supplement last season and I spent $2900 on the kids and my coaches," he said. "If they cut that in half I would be giving money back.

"I am sure it would cause coaches to quit."

The cuts are only a proposal; the budget still must be approved by the Virginia legislature. The approval would come in April and from there local government will decide how to disperse the funds.

Williams still is not worried.

"We get our funding from the gate at the game," he said. "But other counties are different and it could impact them differently."

High school sports are not being singled out by the proposal. Rather, they are just part of deep cuts impacting public schools in general as well as the size of the state government work force and health and welfare safety net programs.

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