SPORTS

CHSAA examines o cials shortage, pay scale

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

It’s not a secret that the Colorado High School Activities Association is dealing with a shortage of game offi cials in several sports. CHSAANow.com called it “one of the most signifi cant threats” to its programs and activities.

That, along with paying offi cials, is why CHSAA formed a task force to address some of these issues.

“This is an issue that deserves our immediate focus and a true sense of urgency, and that is how we are approaching it,” said CHSAA Commissioner Mike Krueger in the CHSAANow.com statement, “We have already established and met with our new task force, which brings a variety of offi cials voices to the table; working with a leading researcher we have just recently undertaken a comprehensive research study to analyze pay rates both nationally and regionally; we are meeting with our member schools to garner insights and information and discuss how school budgets will be affected.”

The state of Colorado ranks at the bottom in the country in offi cials’ pay across all athletics and activities, and the state’s high schools take on most of the funding.

The statement said the schools agree that changes need to be made and pay for offi cials has to be increased. But, for schools to make such a decision, the statement said, they need data and research, especially in times of tight school budgets.

“I want our offi cials to know that they are the highest priority for myself, Monica, our offi ce at CHSAA, and of course for our membership,” said Michael Book, the assistant Commissioner who oversees offi cials for CHSAA. “Our goal, and what we are striving for, is to be among the leaders in what we pay our sports offi cials. We will continue our efforts to create new and impactful initiatives that address challenges like poor sporting behavior and encouraging schools to stress hospitality for our offi cials, but the pay issue is also at the forefront and we are addressing it immediately.”

Krueger cautioned that this is an issue with many parts.

“It will take time to fully address,” he said in the statement. “However, our plan right now is to have a substantive fi rst steps recommendation to our membership as early as this January, a plan that will allow us to work responsibly with schools’ budgets while at the same time allowing for a signifi cant impact to offi cials pay that not only makes Colorado competitive but a leader in this area.”

CHSAA wants to release the initiatives within the next couple of months. CSHAA’s legislative council could cast a vote in January, and offi cials want the new plans to be in place in time for the next school year.

Referee Bob Pace of Colorado Springs conducts the coin toss before a 5A playo game between Mountain Vista and Legacy at Five Star North Stadium Nov. 6. FILE PHOTO

LOOKING FOR REFEREES

CHSAA has set up a recruiting page online to help fi nd the next generation of sports o cials. https://chsaanow.com/sb_output. aspx?form=128

O cials’ pay contains a number of variables

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

High-school offi cials’ fees are among the lowest among nearby states, according to Riverdale Ridge athletic director Aaron Reisen.

The pay scale depends on the level of game (junior varsity vs. varsity) and how many offi cials are assigned to work. In baseball and basketball, each member of a two- or three-person crew earns $63.67 per game, about $1.20 more than 2022. In fi eld hockey, the fee is $59.43 per offi cial, an increase of about $1.20. In volleyball, the fee is $52 for each of the two varsity-level offi cials (an increase of a bit more than a dollar from last year) and $39.80 per offi cial for a juniorvarsity or “C” team match, which represents an increase of 68 cents.

By comparison, Texas highschool football offi cials were paid, at minimum, $105 to $135 per game this season. Baseball umpires there will earn between $85 and $125 per game this coming season, depending on regular-season and playoff assignments, plus mileage. In Colorado, the travel stipend increased to $10 per game this year.

According to retired CHSAA umpire Dan Weikle, who worked state-level playoff games during many of his 46 years as a certifi ed baseball offi cial, the pay for an umpire in 1964 was $10 per game.

“If you extrapolate that out, that’s $88 today,” he said a year ago. “We get paid $62. The pay hasn’t kept up with infl ation. In 1975, when I started, the pay was $25 ($118 in today’s dollars).”

“We are pretty far behind our surrounding states on the amount we pay offi cials per game,” Reisen said. “I know it really impacts our schools close to the state border. Those offi cials can make signifi cantly more money to drive a few miles into another state. I do not recall the exact ranking, but we are close to last out of all the states in offi cials’ pay.”

Finding offi cials and fi nding money in school budgets

Area schools’ costs to fi nd game offi cials depend on the school. At Brighton High School, athletic director Dave Smith said his budget allows for a $10,000 yearly payment to Aurora Sports Offi cials which, in turn, takes care of assigning offi cials.

At Riverdale Ridge, Reisen pays Northern Colorado Sports Offi cials a fee to assign the games. A second bill comes for individual game fees per offi cial, including mileage. At Northglenn, Athletic Director Melissa Sivernell said fees depend on the level of game and the sport. All of the fees she cited were for each contest.

As an example, she paid $40 to $52 for volleyball offi cials and between $2 and $10 for travel. For softball, the range was $44 to $58, plus travel. In football, the cost was $44 to $60 plus travel.

At Prairie View High School the fee for fall 2021 was almost $8,900. This fall, the payout was a bit more than $8,100 through mid-October with another $500 to $700 left to be paid, according to the school.

Two charter schools in the area pay sums, though somewhat smaller because of the number of available sports programs, for their game offi cials.

“We will spend in excess of $20,000 for offi cials for our middle-school and high-school sports this school year,” said Athletic Director Dave Logan.

Eagle Ridge Academy in Brighton does not have a middleschool program.

“Last year (2021-2022), I paid a total of $6,428.16,” said Eagle Ridge Athletic Director Zach Henning. “I know this will stay the same this year. However, next year, when the soccer fi eld is completed, this number will rise.” The Warriors broke ground on the fi eld this fall. It’s expected to be ready for use in time for the girls soccer season this spring.

One more solution?

Brighton’s Dave Smith said CHSAA is beginning to ask athletic directors if they’d be interested in offi ciating games. But, if a class 5A athletic director wanted to be a game offi cial, he/she could not work a game involving a class 5A school.

BULLDOG TO SUN DEVIL

Brighton High School pitcher Brok Eddy makes it o cial. He’s o to play baseball at Arizona State University starting in the fall. He led the team in batting average in 2022 and tied for the top spot in home runs. In 37 innings of pitching, Eddy struck out 71 batters and compiled an earned-run average of 2.27. COURTESY

rising prices is a theory as to why protests are declining. Kersgaard said local policies to make more information accessible could have played a role.

“In Jeffco, we’ve done things that have been designed frankly to reduce (protests),” Kersgaard said.

But the trend seen in Jefferson County is mirrored in the other counties surrounding Denver, according to annual reports from the state Division of Property Taxation.

In Adams County, there were about 2,600 protests in 2013, 11,200 in 2017 and 6,000 in 2021.

In Arapahoe County, there were about 4,800 protests in 2013, 9,200 in 2019 and 4,700 in 2021.

In Douglas County, there were about 5,200 protests in 2013, 7,200 in 2019 and 4,700 in 2021.

It is unclear exactly what is driving recent declines in protests.

The idea that property owners are more resigned to the realities of the real estate market is a common one.

“The real estate market is on fire,” said Corbin Sakdol, a former Arapahoe County assessor and executive director of the Colorado Assessors’ Association. ‘Agnostic about taxes’

Another factor could be approach. Kersgaard said when he came into office, he told his staff not to be lenient with protests.

“What I tell them is if we get the value right, defend the (protest),” Kersgaard said. “Don’t just give them something so they go away. If we’re wrong, grant it.”

The staff was “delighted that I had their back,”he added.

Kersgaard estimates that around 3%-5% of people file appeals in any given year. If an assessor’s office grants an appeal that isn’t justified, “then you’re punishing the other 95% of people who didn’t file appeals.”

A slightly higher share of the tax burden would fall on those who didn’t get a break in taxes, he added.

Kersgaard is a Democrat, a party that’s often accused by Republicans of being pro-taxation. But he said party politics don’t drive his work.

“I tell people when I’m campaigning, ‘Yes. I’m a Democrat, but when I walk into the office I become a technocrat,’” Kersgaard said.

He said the process is intricate. Local bodies, such as school districts, are able to establish tax rates, but assessors must determine the fair values of the properties that rates are applied to.

“I’m totally agnostic about taxes,” he said.

Sakdol, the former Arapahoe County assessor, served as a Republican. He thinks Democrats and Republicans tend to handle assessment protests the same way.

“My experience with assessors across the state of Colorado, they’re most interested in making sure the value is correct,” Sakdol said.

Sakdol’s successor, PK Kaiser, a Democrat who took office in 2019, also said politics don’t drive assessments.

“We look at the protest and see what information is provided and reject (or) adjust the values based on the information provided,” said Kaiser, who was on track to win reelection by a large margin as of Nov. 10.

Gary Salter, a 60-year-old homeowner in unincorporated Jefferson County south of Lakewood, bought his home in 1999. He remembers filing six or seven protests since the early 2000s.

“They lowered (the value) every single time,” said Salter, who has noticed no differences across assessors. New tech may help understanding

During Kersgaard’s term, the Jefferson assessor office updated its website so people can view a map that shows recent property sales in their neighborhoods and see how they compare to their own houses. His office made the upgrade around early 2021.

Kersgaard guessed that type of technology may be a reason why some Denver metro counties have seen protests decline.

“People can look at their house and look at the other houses that are sold in their neighborhood and go, ‘Wow, we’re not actually overvalued,’” Kersgaard said.

Kaiser’s office in Arapahoe also created a map online so people can see how assessed property values have changed near where they live or in other areas.

But given that the decline in protests has occurred in so many counties, “some of it is just driven by the market” and that people today may better understand that home prices have been rising dramatically, Kersgaard said.

Since the start of 2010 — when the median single-family home price in metro Denver was about $200,000 — the median price has roughly tripled, according to a report by the Colorado Association of Realtors based on data as of this August. Statewide, it had tripled as well, according to the association. Are politics at play?

Some Jefferson County protests arise simply because people are unhappy that their taxes are so high, said Kersgaard, who took office in 2019. (He was also on track to win reelection by a large margin as of Nov. 10.)

The public often doesn’t understand the assessor doesn’t decide tax rates.

The assessor’s job is to establish accurate values of all properties — residential, commercial, agricultural, vacant land and more — in his or her county, a process meant to ensure that the amount of taxes property owners pay is fair and equitable.

Property taxes partly fund county governments, but they also fund school districts, fire and library districts, other local entities, and cities and towns.

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Solution

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

TRIVIA

1. TELEVISION: At which popular restaurant does Penny work in “The Big Bang Theory”? 2. ASTRONOMY: Which one of Jupiter’s moons has active volcanos? 3. GEOGRAPHY: The Tiber River fl ows through which famous capital city? 4. LITERATURE: Who wrote the novel “The Martian Chronicles”? 5. U.S. STATES: Which river forms the eastern border of Iowa? 6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the fi rst president to give a televised address from the White House?

7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:

What image on Canada’s fl ag is a recognizable symbol of the country? 8. MEASUREMENTS: Which ancient civilization used palms, digits and cubits to measure length? 9. MOVIES: Who voices the character Princess Anna in “Frozen”?

10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: An elephant has the most muscles in which part of its body?

Answers

1. Cheesecake Factory. 2. Io.

3. Rome.

4. Ray Bradbury. 5. Mississippi. 6. Harry Truman. 7. A maple leaf. 8. Egyptians. 9. Kristen Bell.

10. Trunk.

(c) 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.