JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Now that Senate Bill 538 has been signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a new set of questions begins.
What happens next?
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SB 538 contains two very big elements: boosting pay for extracurricular leaders like coaches and putting the brakes on rampant athletic transfer issues by nontraditional students (homeschool, charter, and virtual) that have emerged in Florida.
The additional pay for extracurricular leaders is likely to be the most polarizing aspect of the bill, and one that districts are in the process of analyzing in the wake of DeSantis’s signing of the bill. It becomes law on July 1.
It’s a deeply layered topic, one that is tangled up by collective bargaining and massive deficits at school districts across Florida. Duval County Public Schools is said to be roughly $100 million short in its budget, and hasn’t given a supplemental pay raise since the 1990s. St. Johns County, annually the state’s top district, is looking at a possible $15 million budget shortfall.
The message to districts from the Florida Coaches Coalition: find a way to deal with it.
That group has been a fierce advocate of better pay for the men and women in the state since late 2021. On Tuesday, it said the time for stalling is over, and the time to come up with a plan is now.
“Florida school districts have officially run out of excuses. The law is signed. The funding mechanism exists. And coaches can now legally be compensated through boosters without touching district budgets,” its statement read in part. “So if a district still chooses to block it, delay it, bury it in policy, or hide behind bureaucracy, understand something clearly: That is no longer ‘following the rules.’ That is a choice. …
“Florida coaches carried this profession on their backs for decades while districts benefited from the culture, success, and community they built. Those days are over. Every district is now on notice.”
The Coalition has vowed to continue its fight at the county level at each of the state’s 67 districts if it sees little movement on the issue.
Rep. Adam Anderson, one of the architects of the House version of the bill, said last March that he expected the coaching pay portion of the bill to be a slow process. Public school districts are unlikely to line up to pay extracurricular leaders more than their union-negotiated supplements, especially during a time of budget deficits all over Florida.
Anderson said after the bill passed almost unanimously in the Senate that the next crucial step would be educating superintendents on the bill and how best to implement it.
Lawmakers would like to see extracurricular leaders, like coaches, be able to capitalize on their skills in a free-market-type system. A state championship-winning coach should earn more than a team that goes winless and misses the playoffs. Coaching staffs shouldn’t be financially penalized for winning as many in Florida are.
Many feel that supplements shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all band-aid in districts. There should be acknowledgements in terms of additional pay for success. Lawmakers aren’t oblivious to the financial limitations facing districts. That’s why the ability to receive funds through entities like booster clubs is a path many in Tallahassee see as the most feasible option right now.
Rep. Shane Abbott, who, along with Anderson, sponsored the House version of the bill, referenced one dynamic in his district that includes Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Walton, and Washington counties. One high school under his purview had far more resources available due to robust alumni support than an adjacent high school. Abbott said the school that had the ability to do more with its facilities shouldn’t have to scale back because the adjacent school didn’t have those same resources.
There was massive bipartisan support for SB 538 because it didn’t bolt on mandates that forced districts to raise the pay of extracurricular leaders like coaches. Now, coaches should feel more empowered to go after pay increases that are decades overdue in some areas.
Reaction from area districts
News4JAX reached out to multiple counties in the coverage area about SB 538.
“As we close out the school year, we are taking this time to look closely at all aspects of Senate Bill 538, analyzing both the pros and cons of how it will reshape our athletic and extra-curricular programs moving forward. Navigating these legislative changes is no small task. That said, we are incredibly grateful for the dedication of our staff and adjuncts who work hard to keep the focus on our athletic and extra-curricular programs.” — St. Johns County School District
“Because Governor DeSantis signed SB 538 just before the holiday weekend, our district leadership and legal teams are currently in the early stages of reviewing the legislation. We are committed to full compliance with the new law, but it is too early to share specific implementation details or timelines at this moment.” — Clay County School District
Local districts have an opportunity to lead
Duval County Superintendent Christopher Bernier was in the front row at Ribault for DeSantis’s bill signing. Could he oversee pay raises in a district that hasn’t given a supplemental increase this century? Will districts in the area take a page from Nassau County, where voters passed a millage increase that helped boost supplemental salaries across the board? In 2015, high school football head coaches there earned $4,751 for spring and fall football. After the millage increase, Nassau County head football coaches now earn $7,217, the third highest in the state.
Area districts are all over the place in terms of pay. Only four of the school districts in the 11-county News4JAX coverage region pay anything for spring football work or pay coaches who reach the playoffs anything additional. Using football as an example, that’s 20 days of work in spring and up to five additional weeks of work in the fall for teams who make the state championship game.
Raines head coach Donovan Masline has led the Vikings to back-to-back state championship game appearances. That translated into 10 additional weeks of work. He received the same paycheck ($4,699) as the head coaches at Sandalwood (1-19), Westside (1-18), and Englewood (3-17), teams whose work ended after the regular season. The Raines coaching staff earns the same thing as the Vikings staff did during the program’s first state championship in 1997.
The transfer part of the bill will be huge
The transfer part of the law should have teeth when it becomes official on July 1. The Florida High School Athletic Association is in the process of crafting how that new law will operate. The law doesn’t eradicate athletes from being able to play for different schools outside of their residential school zone. The state’s controlled open enrollment and school choice options aren’t covered by SB 538.
The law closes the loophole of virtual, charter, and homeschool students being able to bounce from school to school for solely athletic reasons. Those nontraditional students will have to compete at a school within their assigned residential district.
If there isn’t a school within their district of residence that offers the sport they want to play, then they would have the ability to find a school that does offer it in an adjacent district. Students would no longer have the option to play sports at multiple schools in the same year, something that has become common during the past few years.