Announcers, timers, scorers and others who work at athletic events for Proviso Township High Schools District 209 will soon get a bump in pay, the first in at least 10 years.
During a regular board meeting on May 8, the D209 school board voted unanimously to increase athletic event workers’ pay from a $20 flat rate per game to a $40 flat rate per game starting July 1.
District officials explained in a board document released last month that the workers have been paid $20 a game for the last 10 years, with some games lasting three to four hours, and that it has been increasingly difficult to fill positions at a rate of $5 per hour per four-hour game.
During the May meeting, board member Theresa Kelly said that she would like to see the “people who had been working these jobs [before the pay bump] to get first preference to keep working. We need to make sure that they’re not overlooked.”
D209 Supt. Jesse Rodriguez explained at the meeting last month that his administration found that some workers “were making $4 an hour because of the flat rate and the amount of hours they were putting in.”
District officials explained that the amount of money that D209 athletic workers were getting paid was much lower than athletic workers at other schools in the Illinois High School Association Silver Division. Compensation ranged from $5 to $24 per hour across the division.
For instance, workers at Addison Trail get $96.95 per football game, and $81.64 for volleyball, soccer and basketball games. At Hinsdale Central, workers get $73.45 for working zero to four hours; $110.20 for working between four and six hours; and $146.93 for working six or more hours.
“I’m excited about giving them more money,” said D209 board President Ned Wagner during last month’s board meeting.
Board member Claudia Medina praised the workers, saying that “their dedication is incredible” and “the way they support our kids and work with our teams is remarkable. I was so happy to see this because I believe they deserve much better remuneration.”
Rodriguez said that he hopes that he can bring back to the more a proposal for additional compensation in the future.
“Right now, it’s a good move,” he said.
New digital scorer’s tables
coming to East and West
At the May board meeting, the school board also unanimously agreed to enter into a 5-year lease agreement Sports Media Group, LLC for three new 8′ digital scorer’s tables at Proviso East in the amount of $34,288. The board approved an identical agreement with Sports Media Group, LLC for three new tables at Proviso West at a regular meeting on March 13, bringing the total spent on the tables to $68,576.
