To the editor:

I am a coach in the Lawrence school district. I coach both at the junior high and high school levels. My winter coaching season is eight weeks long (late October to early December), then I carry over as an assistant at the high school for the remainder of the season (through February).

This year, at the end of the junior high season, I was informed through a letter that my pay for that junior high season was being decreased by about 20 percent. Never mind the contract both I and the school district signed last July stating the original amount. Just, “by the way, we need you to sign this addendum to your original contract, sorry about that, we’re taking $600 from you two weeks before Christmas and there’s nothing you can do about it. Oh, and also, we know your season is about done and we should have informed you earlier, but, oh well.”

Upon questioning it with the HR Department, I was informed that 22 junior high head coaches’ salaries were chopped without notice. To this day, I’ve never signed that addendum. I think the community needs to know about these kinds of things that go on behind closed doors in this district. You wonder why you can’t win? Take a look. How can you win if you can’t keep good coaches? Sad.