By Delaney Whittet
Staff Writer
Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews proposed that the additional funds to go toward coaching stipends at the Oct. 1 MBUSD Board of Trustees meeting.
Recently, Kinecta Credit Union donated $150,000 to Costa’s extracurricular activities, part of which was spent on a new marquee on Artesia. From the amount donated, $60,000 remains, which Matthews believes should be put toward coaches’ stipends.
“Some of our school teams could use even more support, as they want the best possible program for their students,” Matthews said.
Last June, the Board of Trustees took over the responsibility of paying coaching stipends from extracurricular booster clubs.
“It was a big, and much appreciated, step for the board to pay for our coaches and advisors in our activities and athletics,” Matthews said.
Many Costa sports teams are still looking for more stipends in order to pay additional coaches, including boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, football, swimming, boys and girls beach volleyball, cheer and dance. Marching band has also expressed interest in additional support.
“Band would benefit from an instructional assistant to add targeted instruction,” Band booster president Christine Itano-Cosner said.
MBUSD is currently discussing the issue, which will be addressed again at the November or December Board of Trustees meeting.
“It would beneficial to have another coach who specializes in a different aspect of the game so that soccer could get the most well-rounded critique possible to help us better our game,” Costa Junior Danielle Major said. “Getting advice from different perspectives ensures we are getting the best coaching there is.”
Leave a Reply