When it met in regular session Monday, the Watonga School Board agreed to hire a new head football coach, Matt Walter.
Embattled coach Clint Benway has not resigned his position at the school district, although that was all the superintendent could say on Benway’s situation per personnel privacy statutes.
Walter has a significant amount of experience coaching. He served as the head football coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva for eight seasons, leaving in 2022 to become the offensive coordinator at Eastern Oklahoma State University in Ada. He has also previously coached at various schools including Louisiana Tech University and Emporia State University.
While at NWOSU, Walter coached multiple players who went on to play as All Conference or All American team members. Eastern Oklahoma had an 8-3 record when Walter was the offensive coordinator there.
While that new hire was perhaps the most exciting announcement at the meeting, it should not go unnoticed that the teachers and staff will find up to a $1,000 stipend in their pay packets that arrive on Friday.
Superintendent Kyle Hitlerbran said that the Friday payment will bring the bonuses and stipends paid out this year to about $5,000 for employees, al-though that is a range rather than an absolute
figure.