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  • 1.  Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-17-2019 17:33
    Hi all,
    I'm in the process of negotiating my Drama stipend, which hasn't changed in over 15 years. I would like to move it out of the "Activities" stipend into the Coaches salary schedule. This is the way it was at my previous school and it was very useful.
     
    Here's the need:
    Do any of you fall under the Coaching Salary Schedule and could you possibly send me a copy of that schedule? Any information about compensation would be very helpful.

    Thanks!


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    Robin Tuckett
    Timberline High School
    Lacey WA
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  • 2.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-18-2019 06:04
    My supplemental contract is listed under "Coaches" and is identified as a coaching position. This is helpful mostly when it comes to missing staff meetings for rehearsal, etc.  I am not aware of any other difference.

    --
    Mark A. Zimmerman
    Theatre Director,

    Akron School for the Arts
    Firestone High School
    470 Castle Blvd
    Akron, Ohio 44313

    330-761-3275

    FirestoneTheatre.com




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-18-2019 09:35
    In my county, the Theatre Director gets the same stipend as the Head Football Coach. Sounds good, no? Of course, his "Season" is a lot shorter than ours. The Stipend is a fixed dollar amount. This means it doesn't change much unless the County resets the stipend schedule as a whole. In the county next door, the stipends are a percentage of the teacher's salary. I don't know what they are based on, but the stipends rise as the teacher gets more experience and longevity.

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    Robert Smith
    VA Co-Chapter Director
    Retired
    Centreville VA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-18-2019 10:20
    Good Morning,
    We re-evaluated all production team stipends about 4 years ago and created a tiered system - similar to athletics. We bench marked salaries from about 15 schools that were willing to share information. Some of this information was hard to get (understandable), but in the process we uncovered inequalities with many of our team members.
    Feel free to reach out privately if you wish to continue the conversation.
    Have a great day.
    Jim

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    James Fry
    Director of Student Life and the Malvern Theatre Society
    Malvern, PA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-18-2019 12:49
    Our county has assigned supplements for various "coaching" positions.  However, I'm part of a team that is currently trying to increase our county drama stipends.  Here's the best I can suggest based off my own experience.  Administration (school and county) like number and hard facts.  They like things that affect the students.  I made a spreadsheet with each show I work on and how many contact hours I have with students after school.  I found the same things for the marching band director and one sports coach (who both make more in stipend.)  I took that comparison sheet in to show how I spend equal amount of time (include band camp, practices, and games) as the marching band director.  I spend more time after school than some coaches do.  That has yet to make ground in our county but it puts it into hard facts in a physical document that provides evidence.  I want all those other coaches to get paid what they deserve and I want the drama teachers too as well.

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    Joel King
    Woodstock GA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-18-2019 16:04

    We also need to advocate for equitably apportioned funding for technical support as well as for our own positions. Many drama teachers are one-person-shows, doing their job of directing as well as all the tech for what can be 80-or-so students, while many head coaches have a plethora of assistant coaches for what can be 10 to 20 students.

    You can read a free article download, titled THEATRE "COACHES" at http://www.presett.org/freedownloads.html that addresses this very issue, and gives you some ideas of what to do about it (like some here already have, including the very useful tool of creating a spreadsheet to present empirical evidence to your admin).



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Educational Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach
    www.PRESETT.org

    - WANT TO PAY YOUR GUEST TECHNICIANS/ARTISTS MORE?! CHECK OUT THE NEW SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM (http:www.presett.org/theSTAGEGuild.html)

    - HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS BOOKS (http://www.presett.org/helpful-books.html)
    - ION, ELEMENT, EXPRESS & COLOR THEORY - ONLINE MINI COURSES
    (http://www.presett.org/litt.html)
    - HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS ONLINE COURSE (http://www.presett.org/tmt.html) - NEW! INDEPENDENT STUDY for those who don't have time to join a cohort!
    - THE ECLECTECH SHOPPE (http://www.presett.org/eclectech.html)

    beth@PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-19-2019 13:50
    Robin,

    I am so glad you brought this to our attention! In my district, the total stipends for a varsity football coach and his/her 6 assistants add up to $20,000 for one season. That is more than 10 times what a play director makes (with no assistants). I actually became a union rep just to have some say in revising our stipend system. Let us know how this turns out for you!

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    Jodi Improta
    Fine Arts Department Chair
    Fullerton CA
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Drama Stipend Negotiations

    Posted 09-20-2019 18:11
    "Stipend" is a terrible term for what drama teachers do outside the classsroom, such as directing, designing, and so forth. From Wikipedia:

    A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship.[1] It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed; instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried employment in order to undertake a role that is normally unpaid (e.g. a magistrate in the United Kingdom) or voluntary, or which cannot be measured in terms of a task (e.g. members of the clergy). [2][3]

    Stipends are usually lower than what would be expected as a permanent salary for similar work. This is because the stipend is complemented by other benefits such as accreditation, instruction, food, and/or accommodation. Some graduate schools make stipend payments to help students have the time and funds to earn their academic degree (i.e. master's and doctoral degrees). Universities usually refer to money paid to graduate students as a stipend, rather than wages, to reflect complementary benefits.[4][5]


    I especially like the part (NOT!) about it not necessarily representing payment for work performed, which also applies to coaches. No wonder I see so many comments here about drama teacher "stipends" being so low.

    And FWIW, now and then a non- professional theatre group contacts me about designing a set, and then tell me the stipend they have budgeted. At which point (regardless of whether I take the job or not), I tell them that in my world it's not a stipend -- it's a fee for professional services.






    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
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    Original Message


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