Seekonk School Committee Votes On Coaches Salaries

The School Committee voted 4-1 Monday to withhold payment for salaries for the 2020 spring season coaches until a new agreement can be reached with Seekonk Educators Association (SEA).

Chairperson Kim Sluter, Beth Eklund, Erin Brouillette, and Sonig Schiller voted yes, with Noah Escaler in opposition.

Escaler felt it was “not reasonable” to use the coronavirus pandemic as justification for not paying staff members.

“Let’s move forward, learn from our mistakes this year and solidify contracts with coaches and advisors so that we are not facing this issue for the coming years,” Escaler said.

“In our role as school committee members, we do have a fiduciary responsibility to the town of Seekonk and we are committed to doing right by the entire community,” Sluter explained.

The SEA voted last month to reject a plan proposed by the School Committee to cut the 2020 Spring Season Coaches Salaries by 75 percent. Seekonk Coaches, whose salaries are covered in the SEA contract with the town, have been working with their teams and athletes all along in compliance with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) guidelines, according to SEA President Sharon Ahern.


“The economic impact of COVID-19 is just starting,” Sluter added. “It’s going to reach much farther and beyond the spring and the school committee seeks to work collaboratively with the SEA to make the best possible decisions for our public school.”