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The school board is preparing to debate whether the high school should have a full-time athletic director.

“It would be great if we could do it but there’s obviously a financial issue,” said Hilde Mayranen-O’Brien, chairwoman of the board, adding that a decision would not be made before the spring, when the board adopts its 2007-08 budget.

East Hartford for years has had a teacher handle athletic director duties part time. Last year, for example, English teacher Maureen Rodgers taught three classes — instead of the normal five — and used the balance of the time for sports-related duties.

Rodgers retired last summer but has been rehired to work as the athletic director part time, said Christopher Wethje, the district’s human resources director.

He said Rodgers is working the equivalent of two days per week and is expected to stay in the job through next June. Her total pay for that time is expected to be about $26,000, Wethje said.

At the request of Superintendent Marion Martinez, the human resources department recently surveyed 23 districts statewide to learn who handled athletic director duties and how much they were paid.

Bristol, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, West Hartford and Wethersfield all have full-time athletic directors earning $90,000 or more, according to the survey.

Rocky Hill, Ansonia and New London were among districts with a part-time director, according to the survey, which said salary information for those positions was not made available.

Chip Dorwin, president of the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors, said communities frequently debate the best way to handle a school or district’s myriad sports demands.

“The position itself is all over the board,” said Dorwin, who works full time as the athletic director in Guilford, where he oversees sports at the high and middle schools. “It depends on the scope of programs, the number of kids involved, the number of coaches.”

In some small districts, he said, duties are handled by a person who is not part of the formal school staff but instead holds a state coaching certificate, which requires 45 hours of training.

The next step up, he said, is the East Hartford model, which assigns work to a certified teacher.

The most costly approach calls for an administrator to serve as athletic director. Under that approach, the athletic director can perform reviews and have more control over personnel issues, Dorwin said.

In addition to the most obvious duties — scheduling games, hiring officials, coordinating buses — Dorwin said school systems need to deal with sports-related budgeting, purchasing and facilities issues.

“Whether a part-time person can do it depends on the job description,” he said. “It’s like the old saying, ‘You get what you pay for.”‘

Contact Jim Farrell at jfarrell@courant.com.