SALEM Too much money? BOE rejects Phillips

The Quakers football coach had applied to be an assistant boys track coach.
SALEM - It wasn't that the Salem High football coach didn't have the qualifications to be an assistant boys track coach. It was that giving him the roughly $2,600 job would mean he would be making too much money in the eyes of a majority of Salem School Board members.
That was the end of a sometimes contentious, sometimes rambling discussion over coaching appointments for spring sports.
Doug Phillips, who was recommended by the athletic director to serve as assistant boys track coach, was shot down by a 3-2 vote. Board members Elizabeth Thatcher, Marguerite Miller and Sean Hart all voted against his hiring. Members Cindy Rottenborn and Kathy Gano voted to hire him.
In discussion of the candidate, Hart said money was an issue and that Phillips made "too much money."
Gano thought that was ludicrous.
"Are we going to have a lawsuit here because we [think] somebody makes too much money?" said Gano, who did not have an issue with coaches salaries in general, which average about $2,600.
School superintendent Dr. David Brobeck said: "I don't know that."
No comment
Phillips, a high school administrator as dean of students, and varsity football coach, makes $52,668 a year. He could not be reached for comment. Brobeck said they spoke after the meeting by cell phone, and that Phillips said he did not want to make a statement.
The board initially turned down middle school boys assistant track coach Dom Daltorio because Hart had questions about his track coaching background, which Brobeck could not answer.
Also, Hart wanted to be sure all teachers were granted a chance to apply for the job.
After the board voted against his hiring, athletic director Greg Steffey walked in to drop something off to Brobeck, and then was asked to stay and answer some questions. He only had a few minutes because of his obligations at a high school basketball tournament game. When asked about Daltorio's experience, Steffey said the candidate had 15 years of track coaching experience.
That prompted the board to rescind its initial decision.