MADISON TOWNSHIP — Junior Jaxin Stancombe knows his wrestling coach would give him the shirt off his back if he needed it.
He literally has.
Stancombe wore that gray t-shirt, given to him by head varsity wrestling coach Bryan Mosier, when he spoke at a school board meeting Wednesday night.
“This shirt I’m wearing currently was gifted to me by him during a practice because I forgot to bring an extra,” Stancombe told the board. “He is one of the most caring coaches I’ve ever had. He wants his athletes to succeed more than anything.”
Stancombe was one of several student-athletes and parents who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting, urging the board to approve a postseason stipend for Mosier of $1,950.
“As a mom of three busy boys, I’m often reminded of just how important it is to have a village,” said Courtney Kimes, whose three sons all wrestle. “Coach Mosier has created that village within our sport here at Madison.”
One woman said her daughter was being bullied, struggling academically and making risky decisions before joining the wrestling team turned her life around.
A female student shared a similar story about her brother.
Board members later voted 3-1 to approve the stipend, after it failed to garner the necessary three votes at last month’s meeting.
Supt. Rob Peterson recommended the stipend for Mosier, along with smaller stipends for two assistant coaches in February.
The two smaller stipends were approved last month by a 3-2 vote, but one of the board members who voted in favor was Bryan’s father, school board president Doug Mosier. The elder Mosier abstained from the vote on his son’s stipend.
Why pay an additional stipend to the girls wrestling coaches?
Bryan Mosier serves as the head coach for both boys and girls wrestling. Like other coaches, he and his team are paid via a supplemental contract approved by the board.
But Peterson said wrestling is different from other sports where boys and girls practice together but compete separately. Unlike swimming, track and field and cross country, boys and girls wrestling meets take place on different days.
Thus, Mosier and two of his assistant coaches were attending boys wrestling meets on Saturdays and girls meets on Sundays.
“If you don’t know anything about wrestling tournaments, they’re long days,” Peterson told board members in February. “They’re going all over the state for these tournaments, spending long days and doing it with no (additional) compensation.”
Peterson said the district initially tried to hire a girls coach, but Mosier was the only applicant.
The superintendent said he and athletic director Doug Rickert have been discussing a solution for several months, working to ensure any changes would comply with both Title IX and the contract between the district and the teacher’s union.
Despite the rising popularity of girls wrestling, Peterson said Rickert spoke with athletic directors from several other districts and found “little consistency” in how schools handle coaching and compensation.
As for Madison, the two administrators decided to take the salary for an assistant coach and split it three ways: $1,950 for Mosier, $1,200 for assistant varsity wrestling coach Chad Hutcheson and $1,200 for middle school head wrestling coach David Gilbert.
Board members Alan Wigton, Amy Walker and Doug Mosier voted in favor of the $1,200 contracts last month.
But Mosier abstained from the vote on his son Bryan’s stipend. Thus the motion failed, with Wigton and Amy Walker voting in favor and Mary Kotterman and Melissa Walker voting in opposition.
Kotterman had asked to postpone the vote in February, but a motion to table the matter failed 2-3. She joined Wigton and Walker to vote in favor of Mosier’s stipend Wednesday.
She told community members that her initial ‘no’ vote wasn’t based on Mosier’s coaching, but unresolved questions she had about “legality and procedure.” She said Peterson had worked with her and the district’s legal counsel over the last month to respond to her concerns.
“I want every coach and teacher out there who puts extra time and care and to know that I appreciate you,” Kotterman said. “I also want to ensure that I can explain my decision to taxpayers if I’m questioned about why I’m approving this while district faces financial difficulties.”
“I simply wanted to make sure things are done correctly,” Kotterman added. “I’m sorry if anyone was made to believe otherwise.”
Board member Melissa Walker voted against the stipend for a second time. Before casting her vote, she addressed rumors that her vote was influenced by a “personal vendetta” against Mosier.
“I want to assure you that that is not true,” she said. “I have never met the wrestling coaches and I have no issues with them.
“On the contrary, it’s been wonderful hearing the good things that everyone has to say about them.”
Walker said she still had concerns about the way the coaching structure was handled, including some concerns that she would not disclose.
“In disclosing those concerns, I would be compromising my integrity at someone else’s expense,” Walker said. “I appreciate that you all came out. I have no doubt that you’re passionate about the wrestling program. I appreciate that passion and I want you to know that I do hear you.”
Peterson said he was happy the stipend was approved and appreciated board members’ careful consideration.
“Those are difficult decisions,” he said. “I appreciate all of the board members and the work that that they went through to come to that conclusion.”
