Pay

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by REFVA

the association I work for charges a Booking fee10% to 15%, a game fee which is almost $30 over our officials pay and then they take a 10% fee out of our checks..

This is criminal. You should lead a revolt of the membership. That's outrageous.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

This is criminal. You should lead a revolt of the membership. That's outrageous.

Why is that criminal?

At the very least they know about what the fees are. We work for assignors and no one knows what the assignors are paid for assigning games. What the schools pay the assignor should be between the schools and the assignor.

Peace

[Chess Ref]

I thought that school districts had to have open books.No pun intended. So at some point you could find out what the assigners are being paid.

[LarryS]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I thought that school districts had to have open books.No pun intended. So at some point you could find out what the assigners are being paid.

Usually they are not going to have to go into that much detail...you will see a line item for "contract labor" or "consultants" or a similar grouping.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I thought that school districts had to have open books.No pun intended. So at some point you could find out what the assigners are being paid.

Who is going to require them to do this?

I work for a lot of private schools as well. Private schools are not subject to the same laws/rules as a public school.

Peace

[Chess Ref]

Well I am assuming that school districts have open books because its the law. I believe Larry S answered the question I posed. Agreed that private schools don't have to show their books to anyone.

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Why is that criminal?

B/c the association charges a 10%-15% booking fee and then another 10% is taken out for something else. That's 25% of every game check? To me, that is worthy of a revolt.

What the schools pay the assignor should be between the schools and the assignor.

Exactly. So why is the association taking out a 10% booking fee?!?!?!

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

This is criminal. You should lead a revolt of the membership. That's outrageous.

What's the difference if the assignor gets paid by the membership in form of kickback or directly by the school? The bottom line is it costs each school $X per game for officials, and that cost includes assignors fees.

Are you suggesting assignors should not get paid?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

What's the difference if the assignor gets paid by the membership in form of kickback or directly by the school? The bottom line is it costs each school $X per game for officials, and that cost includes assignors fees.

Are you suggesting assignors should not get paid?

This is the same question I have. We get paid a fee for our officiating not assigning. If the money is coming out of anywhere that is based on what the school/district/conference feels is fair. After all it is their money and if they want to pay someone to assign the games that is there business.

Peace

[26 Year Gap]

Depends on the assignors, but many are deducting $2 per game from the post-season mileage checks. Others request payment of the assignment fees directly--usually $2 per game. Some assignors do not charge anything. Some ADs do their own assigning.

Game fees are paid on site 75% of the time and the others mail them within two weeks. Most require a W-9 [I have never had to fill one out in subsequent years] and some require a voucher for each game. The business managers are the ones who have caused most of the problems here in Vermont with delays of payment and the ADs who do not have checks at the game site are without exception apologetic for the changes [which have occurred at about mid-season 2004-05].

All in all, it does not seem to be too bad a system here with the exception of the two game fees split 3 ways with 3 man crews.

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

What's the difference if the assignor gets paid by the membership in form of kickback or directly by the school?

Maybe it's just me, but I think it borders on being unethical for an assignor to receive payments from the people who receive his assignments. The money changes hands too many times. It goes from the school to the official to the association to the assignor. Just seems like too much possibility for funny business. Streamline it so that the school pays the officials for the game and the school pays the assignor for making the assignments.

Are you suggesting assignors should not get paid?

Of course not, but 25% of every game check is usury. The MA fee for a varsity game is $72, I believe. 25% of that is $18. I work roughly 20 varsity games a year. That would be a charge of $360 per season! I pay a third of that for my college schedule!!

Let the assignor negotiate an assigning fee with the schools and let the officials negotiate a game fee with the schools.

[Texas Aggie]

I've worked three different sports over 3 decades in Texas and it all works the same way: we fill out a form at the site and get paid by check from the school (or school district) 2-4 weeks later. Some districts pay faster than others. With a few exceptions, I've found private schools pay the quickest. I can probably count on 2 hands the number of times I've been paid in cash at the game, but it has happened, but I don't think I've ever had a check waiting for me. I think I've worked some tournament games where I got a check written to me after my games, but that may have been summer league stuff and not school.

I think I've only been stiffed twice: both by the same (former) Wilmer Hutchins school district (formerly) in the Dallas area. Corruption got the best of them a year or two ago. Several other districts, including Dallas, pay pretty late.

In my first year of basketball, the varsity assigner assigned a varsity official 3 games for the night: the frosh, JV, and Varsity game. Sometimes, it was only the JV and Varsity. Anyway, the official was responsible for getting a younger official to "jump" their FR/JV game, and they would pay the official in cash and take the school fee for the 3 games. I did that a lot. They eventually did away with that system, though from a non-financial standpoint, it makes a lot of sense.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Maybe it's just me, but I think it borders on being unethical for an assignor to receive payments from the people who receive his assignments. The money changes hands too many times. It goes from the school to the official to the association to the assignor. Just seems like too much possibility for funny business. Streamline it so that the school pays the officials for the game and the school pays the assignor for making the assignments.

Of course not, but 25% of every game check is usury. The MA fee for a varsity game is $72, I believe. 25% of that is $18. I work roughly 20 varsity games a year. That would be a charge of $360 per season! I pay a third of that for my college schedule!!

Let the assignor negotiate an assigning fee with the schools and let the officials negotiate a game fee with the schools.

Oh wait, I see what you're so excited about.

25% is excessive, but I'm not entirely sure REFVA knows what he's talking about, he said "...I heard that the association I work for charges a Booking fee10% to 15%, a game fee which is almost $30 over our officials pay and then they take a 10% fee out of our checks.."

In any event I understand in the MD/VA area associations assign virtually *all* games, so they don't actually act as associations they act as agents. And they take their cut off the top.

I would hate to have to have to officiate under that agreement.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

Let the assignor negotiate an assigning fee with the schools and let the officials negotiate a game fee with the schools.

I guess I see your point to some extent. I just do not see a difference in who gives you the money if in the end you get the same money.

I also do not understand why associations are given so much power in the first place. It sounds like there are many conflicts involved with associations assigning games for a certain number of officials.

I am just glad I work in an NCAA type system. You work for the conference and there is an officiating supervisor for each conference. Your entire schedule is not in the hands of one person or one group.

Peace

[REFVA]

This is criminal. You should lead a revolt of the membership. That's outrageous

Not a revolt, but small guys are popping up within that association and taking some business away from them. It's not to far off before they will start to loose good officials as well as contracts.