In a state where teacher salaries still remain below the national average and average scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test by Georgia students are 49th out of 51, that supplemental pay would be enough to hire 250 more teachers. Many top coaches have extended teaching contracts that pay them through the summer months, when they merely oversee offseason workouts, fix up the stadium and prepare for the fall schedule. Nearly 45 percent of the coaches get additional stipends to serve as athletics director, which means they usually have administrative duties in lieu of teaching assignments. At Parkview, Flowe and his staff were rewarded by the booster club for the school's state title - unbeknownst to athletics director Karl Bostick. Something like that would be kept private.
Some school districts have policies against bonuses and other perks.
The Internal Revenue Service requires that cash bonuses and perks be reported as taxable income. Some booster groups say they attempt to circumvent the tax issue by buying or leasing the vehicle in their name. Bob Lynch, a district administrator who oversees the athletics system, said the policy came about because some coaches at the more affluent north Fulton schools were receiving postseason cash bonuses from their touchdown clubs. We're trying to avoid the idea that the playing time of a kid or a good season brings financial remuneration. Lynch said the district is taking a proactive stance this fall, surveying schools on any significant gift-giving to coaches, in advance of contacting the IRS with its findings.