As one of the go-to guys for computer maintenance, Muskogee High School computer teacher Willie Price said he often finds himself working six to eight hours a week beyond school hours.

“I come in sometimes around 6:30 to 6:45 a.m. and make sure the computer network is functioning, and I often stay here until 5 p.m.,” he said.

Price gets a stipend for the extra hours he puts into computer maintenance.

Teachers say they need the extra duty stipends because of the extra hours they put in. Administrators and support workers also get stipends for extra duty or extra certification. Many stipends, such as some for child nutrition service personnel, are funded through federal or state grants, said Jim Wilson, assistant Muskogee Public Schools superintendent for support and personnel.

Price and other “career-tech” teachers get stipends from the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. Price gets a $2,000 career-tech stipend.

Price also gets a $4,000 stipend for being the site computer technician at MHS and $3,763 for being the curriculum coordinator for MHS business and career education.

“Some of our computer repairs are done after hours, and we try to maintain the network here,” Price said.

Price’s computer repair students repair some district computers in the classroom.

Sadler Arts Academy teacher Georgie Chapuis gets a $537.96 stipend for sponsoring the school’s yearbook and $1,999.92 for sponsoring the Sadler Gifted and Talented program. She also tutors after school.

“Most of my yearbook work comes at the end of the year,” she said. “We take pictures all the time. We probably put 100 extra hours into it, mostly after school. She said she spends about five hours a week with the gifted and talented program, with three hours teaching after school and at least two hours planning.

Muskogee Schools Athletic Director Bobby Jefferson said coaches put in 40 to 50 extra hours a week during their seasons. Off-season, they might be scouting, he said.

Jefferson said coaches of different sports put in similar hours “across the board.” However, coaches get varying stipends for extra duties.

Head football coach Matt Hennesy receives $11,307, plus $5,000 as assistant athletic director.

Terry Scott receives $7,644 as head MHS basketball coach.

Jefferson said Hennesy’s stipend compares with other football coach stipends across the state.

Tahlequah pays head football coach Kenneth “Tuffy” Thornton $9,486 for his coaching duties and $6,587 for being assistant athletic director, according to Tahlequah Public Schools human resources director Connie Garrett.

Tahlequah School Superintendent Shannon Goodsell recalled extra hours he put in when he was head football coach in Bartlesville.

“With the extra time we put in, we were not making close to minimum wage,” he said. “I was putting in an extra 40 hours a week coaching.”

At many Oklahoma schools, including Muskogee, the biggest stipend goes to the vocational agriculture teachers who are on a 12-month contract, instead of a nine-month contract.

MHS vocational agriculture teacher Bruce Ragsdale receives $13,905.72, plus $2,400 from the State Department of Career and Technology Education.

“My job starts when the fiscal year starts on July 1,” said Ragsdale, who also is FFA sponsor. “Usually at the first of summer I am at FFA Alumni camp with kids.”

“And when I’m at Alumni Camp, I have parents taking their kids to the Junior National Livestock Show,” Ragsdale said. “We also have the Limousin cattle show in Amarillo. We also go to south Texas to buy show goats. You can buy a goat for less money down there.”



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