Louis Dal Pra won’t be leaving his job as RBR’s athletic director after all.
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
When redbankgreen called Louis ‘Del’ Dal Pra‘s office late Friday morning, he didn’t have to wait for the question to be asked. He knew the reason for the call, and got right to it.
“I’m back,” he said, confirming the rumors that he decided to stay put as Red Bank Regional‘s athletic director. “It’s official.”
Dal Pra, who gave notice to leave the school last month, citing a heavy workload that kept him from spending time with his family, had a change of heart when the school made him “an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
The offer was one you’d assume could be easily refused, actually: for Dal Pra to take a pay cut. But it also meant he’d work fewer hours — Dal Pra said he routinely put in 300 days a year — so he jumped on it, scrapping his plan to teach at Raritan High School.
“They (school officials) asked me what would take for me to come back. It wasn’t about the money,” he said. “If they offered me double the pay and the same responsibility I wouldn’t have taken it.”
So he decided on less money — he wouldn’t discuss specifics, but said it’s between a $12,000 and $16,000 cut — and less responsibility. He will now serve strictly as the high school’s athletic director, shedding his roles as health and physical education teacher, activities director and supervisor of sports medicine and sports management — positions that simply sucked up the little free time he had.
He will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of the school’s athletics, he said, and may coach certain sports if the opportunity arises, he said.
In order to accommodate the change, Dal Pra said the school will hire three part-time site managers who will help run events in each sports season.
His contract was made official Wednesday night.
“I’m getting lower money, but I’m getting less time,” Dal Pra said. “And that’s why I was leaving, so I could spend more time with my family.”
Another bonus: Dal Pra, who lives in Red Bank, won’t have to make the commute to Hazlet five days a week.
“It’s great because it’s right around the corner,” he said. “And my family, they’re very happy.”
