The Colorado High School Activities Association, along with a newly formed officials task force, have been working diligently on major initiatives that will address the officials shortages seen across all activities statewide.
The CHSAA membership is facing one of the most significant threats to the athletic and activity programs in the history of the organization. Officials play a crucial role in advancing the CHSAA mission, which is to provide opportunities for our student-athletes through educationally based athletics and activities. The CHSAA membership schools’ programs simply cannot function effectively without officials to regulate play and assist with the intangible benefits provided through participation.
“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. “We have already established and met with our new task force, which brings a variety of officials 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.”
Colorado ranks in the bottom in the country in officials’ pay across all athletics and activities. Stakeholders agree that changes must be made and increases to the pay structure must happen, but for the schools to make a decision of this magnitude, they need the data and research required to make an informed decision. As school budgets remain tight, any impact to budgets affects all programming, but at the same time, increases in officials pay are urgently needed.
“I want our officials to know that they are the highest priority for myself, Monica, our office at CHSAA, and of course for our membership,” said Michael Book, the assistant commissioner who oversees officials. “Our goal, and what we are striving for, is to be among the leaders in what we pay our sports officials. 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 officials; but the pay issue is also at the forefront and we are addressing it immediately.”
“No doubt this is a multifaceted issue, and it will take time to fully address. However, our plan right now is to have a substantive first 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 significant impact to officials pay that not only makes Colorado competitive but a leader in this area,” Krueger said.
CHSAA hopes that these initiatives will be released to the public in the next couple of months. After the initiatives are brought to the Legislative Council in January, it is the hope they will be fully in place by the start of the 2023-24 school year.
“Officiating is one of the best experiences of my life, and I want all of our officials to feel the brotherhood/sisterhood that officiating offers,” Book said. “Officiating is extremely rewarding, and officials should feel they are valued each time they find themselves away from family or jobs to work contests for our student athletes and schools.”
Also Wednesday, the National Federation of State High School Associations released a video launching a campaign against bad behavior at events called “Bench Bad Behavior.” According to the association, out-of-control behavior by parents and other fans at high school sporting events is unacceptable behavior and driving away men and women from serving as officials and threatening the future of high school sports in our country.
