[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Dear Judy,

Regardless of what any team does, your efforts are focused on what you think is best for your team. I applaud you for it, and I encourage you to continue.

With that said, you may want to provide a more concrete explanation for why you think the coaches should be paid more. Here are a few things you could use:

1) A timetable of the activities Robotics mentors do throughout the year, especially during build season. Don't think of this effort as a "compete with sports coaches" thing, but think of it more as an exhibition of how much work the mentors do and how much they deserve this stipend. The fact that other coaches make more should be a reference point to work from, not a "give me some too" standard. I don't feel you came off like that, but any plea for money from a board may be seen as that without proper justification.

2) An explanation of the expenses of the team as related to that mentor and how the team would be willing to compromise. You may not win this battle, but you have an amazing opportunity to set a standard of respect for all academic coaches in your school corporation. Provide numbers, budgets, and other information (in concise form) of the money your mentors use and how the added stress of the build season effects them. Stress how much they love the work, but make sure the board understands that there are other concerns.

3) I don't know if this is an issue, but try to get parents involved. Hold a team meeting to let students know what is happening - if at all possible, have students and parents from the team attend any meetings of the board as related to this issue. If board members see community support, and the rally of the team behind its coaches, they may understand a bit more how important you as coaches are to the program.