FHSAA approves pay raise for high school officials, but can school districts afford it?

High school sports officials in Florida will finally get a long-awaited pay raise next school year. However, a new fight looms before they can take the field in 2020-21.

After football officials in Lee County staged a brief work stoppage last season, causing the loss of several preseason games, the refs recently got the raise they wanted.

Now school officials are questioning if they can afford the new pay scale.

In November the Florida High School Athletic Association announced an increase in the maximum per-game rate for officials in 12 varsity sports that averages 43.6% and 55% or more for six sports.

The biggest raise in terms of dollars and percentage comes in football. Football officials will go from making $65 a game the past six years to $111 a game next season.

“I’m happy,” said John Mantica, president of the South Gulf Football Officials Association in Lee County that voted to strike in August if it didn’t receive a raise. “It’s been a long time coming.”

The new total includes a $10 travel fee per official. In years past officials organizations negotiated travel fees with school districts. Refs in Collier County received $12 per person, giving them $77 per game.

Game fees up for debate

Budget concerns from school administrators could create a stumbling block when it is time for officials to negotiate new contracts this spring.

Even though the FHSAA approved raises, the officials don’t automatically receive all that money.

The FHSAA sets the maximum amount officials can receive to ensure equality and make sure officials organizations don’t overcharge schools. Schools do not have to pay the FHSAA maximum to officials. Game fees are negotiated between individual officials associations and the schools they serve.

Most schools have paid refs the maximum amount the FHSAA allows in years past. However, with such a large increase in 2020-21, that could change.

David LaRosa, the Lee County school district administrator who oversees athletics, and Mark Rosenbalm, Collier County Public Schools’ coordinator for interscholastic activities, said they wouldn’t guarantee their school systems would pay officials the max amount next year.

LaRosa estimated each high school will pay between $15,000-$20,000 more to officials next year. That includes raises for officials at all levels – varsity, junior varsity and freshmen.

Read more about the officials' fight for more money:

    •Friday night lights going dark? Lee football officials prepared to sit out for more pay

    • Lee football officials think they can avoid strike, schools not so sure

    •Preseason games canceled in wake of officials work stoppage

    •Game On! Football officials, Lee schools strike deal

Rosenbalm said the officials’ pay raise could cost each school between $25,000-$30,000 a year.

Both county ADs expect negotiations to begin in February with the hope of having officials contracts in place by the start of spring football in May.

Game fees are not the only items up for debate during contract negotiations. Officials groups often charge schools administrative fees or booking fees, which they use to pay schedulers and others who help run the organization. If the officials’ game fees go up, the administrative fees could go down, or vice versa.

The private schools in Collier and Lee have used the same contracts for officials that the public schools agree to in recent years.

The Greater Naples Officials Association, which officiates all sports except lacrosse, and Collier schools have worked well together since the GNOA was formed six years ago, said Mackett.

“We have a good relationship with the Collier school board and the FHSAA,” said Robb Mackett, president of the Greater Naples Officials Association. “We’re on solid ground. We chose to work (football games last season) because the school district assured us a significant pay raise was coming.”

Mackett said GNOA officials believe they will get the max pay rates from Collier schools, although county AD Rosenbalm would not commit to that.

Can schools afford it?

All school administrators interviewed agreed that sports officials deserved more money. Yet they also question the large jump in pay and how it will affect athletic budgets.

“The officials did deserve a raise across the board,” Mariner High School athletic director Steve Larsen said. “However, I’m a little taken aback at the amount. This large of a jump is a little bit too much for me to take right now.”

The new FHSAA officials' fees were created by a task force that included five officials (including Mantica) and five high school athletic directors. The per-game fees were decided upon by averaging the officials' pay rate in eight Southeastern U.S. states, then adding $5 plus the $10 travel fee.

“The comment was made (in the task force) that Florida high school athletics should always be and have always been above average,” said Justin Harrison, the FHSAA’s supervisor of officials.

The officials’ pay increase was so large to make up for a lack of incremental increases over the years. Mantica said football officials received two raises the past 15 years.

Florida lagged behind neighboring states in what it paid sports officials. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina all paid officials at least $8 more per game (12.3%). Six of those states paid at least $25 more (38.5%).

“The problem is this is catchup pay because (the FHSAA) has been delinquent in giving a raise for so long,” said Mackett. “That’s why this is so dramatic. It looks dramatic but it’s only the average of what other officials (in other states) are getting.”

Cutting costs to pay officials

The athletic budgets in Collier and Lee counties are mostly self-funded. The sports programs run on money from ticket sales, fundraisers and sponsorships.

Lee County public high schools each receive a $50,000 stipend from the school system each year to pay for transportation, officials, security guards and people to work athletic events. Collier public high schools receive an annual stipend from the district for transportation.

Paying more for officials means schools have less money to spend on jerseys, equipment and transportation. To adjust, sports teams might have to schedule fewer out of town games to save on transportation. Programs also might schedule fewer home games to save on officials' fees or use fewer officials per game.

“That money has to come from somewhere,” Larsen said. “It could mean less equipment or (no new) uniforms. I can’t stomach that – we have to provide all the essentials. No matter what happens, something is going to fall short in the long run.”

Athletic directors in other parts of the state also are trying to figure out how to offset the added cost of officials next season.

“It will take some creative maneuvering when the budget comes out,” Martin County High AD Martin Cowles said. “The overall cost of officials increasing will make us take a look at how we're doing things, like uniform allocation for example. Currently, we're doing two years on purchasing new uniforms and one off. We may have to do two on and two off.”

Added Steve Ripley, St. Lucie West Centennial athletic director: “Coaches may have to do more fundraising, but usually (that’s) for something the teams needs like uniforms or shoes. Now, we may have to come up with a game plan. I don’t want to cut a sport like freshman basketball, but that’s an extra expense now.”

Paying for quality

Officials and the FHSAA hope higher compensation will improve the quality and quantity of officiating. There remains a shortage of officials in the state and country, and many of the officials who are working are getting older. Paying more is one way to entice younger people to get involved or stay involved.

“It’s going to help retain and recruit newer officials,” said Harrison, the FHSAA officials supervisor. “We do understand it’s going to significantly impact schools on the front end, but overall it’s going to lead to better high school athletics.”

Naples High athletic director Ernie Modugno, the longest-tenured AD in Southwest Florida with 32 years in the position, didn’t balk when he saw how much he’d be paying officials next season. He doesn’t plan to make any cutbacks next season. Rather, he’ll raise more money or find more sponsors.

The pay raise is well deserved, Modugno said, and he thinks it will make for more quality officials which benefits the athletes.

“It’s going to be painful – more painful to some than others,” Modugno said of the hit to his budget. “It’s a worthwhile investment. We’re going to make it work.”

TCPalm sports reporter Jon Santucci contributed to this article

FHSAA officials pay increases

The Florida High School Athletic Association recently approved pay raises for officials in all sports beginning in the 2020-21 school year. Below are the maximum rates officials associations can charge schools per varsity game in each sport for this school year and next school year, along with the amount each game fee has change:

                    2019-20      2020-21      Difference     Pct. change

Baseball         $55             $87             $32                58.2

Basketball      $55             $81             $26                47.3

Football         $65             $111           $46                70.8

Flag football  $38             $53             $15                39.5

Lacrosse        $58             $83             $25                43.1

Soccer           $51             $79             $28                54.9

Softball         $50             $79             $29                58.0

Swimming     $60             $98             $38                63.3

Track…        

Meet referee  $128           $146           $18                14.1

Starter/clerks $100           $128           $28                28.0

Judges          $64             $82             $18                28.1

Wts/meas.    $25             $43             $18                72.0

Volleyball      $45             $73             $28                62.2

Water polo     $40             $55            $15                37.5

Wrestling       $60             $86            $26                43.3

High school football officials fees by state (per game)

Alabama            $100

Florida               $111 (beginning next season)

Georgia             $100

Louisiana       $90

Mississippi        $100

North Carolina  $76

Tennessee         $105

Texas               $100

South Carolina  $73-$99