High school athletes are scheduled to be back on the field Aug. 24, and games for the fall season could start in mid-September.

But if teams are cleared to start contests, will officials be there to work the games?

Neither Collier nor Lee county public schools have contracts with their sports officials for the upcoming school year. Even if an agreement were in place, there’s concern from some officials about contracting COVID-19 during games, especially in the high-risk sports of football and volleyball.

“I hope so. I think so,” said John Mantica, president of the Lee County football officials organization, when asked if there would be enough officials for this season. “We’ll have to wait and see in September.”

The South Gulf Football Officials Association, Mantica’s group, and the Greater Naples Officials Association expect to sign contracts soon with Lee and Collier schools, respectively. Both county athletic directors said they expect a painless negotiation process.

The Florida High School Athletic Association approved a pay raise for officials in all sports starting this season. School administrators were concerned the raises would add thousands of dollars to athletic budgets, which likely will shrink due to the effects of coronavirus.

More: Schools question raises for sports officials as uncertainty looms from COVID-19

More: FHSAA approves pay raise for high school officials, but can school districts afford it?

The FHSAA, which sets the maximum fee officials can charge schools, increased football officials’ pay from $65 a game to $111. However, the new rate includes travel fees, which schools previously paid separately. In Collier County it’s $33 more per official per football game, a 42.3 percent increase.

Officials in all 12 varsity sports will see their pay increase by at least 37 percent. Junior varsity and freshmen officials also will get a raise. It is the first raise the FHSAA has given officials in six years.

Lee Schools athletic director David LaRosa has committed to paying sports officials the FHSAA maximum rate. Collier Schools athletic director Mark Rosenbalm did not commit to paying the full rate but said the refs should get a significant raise.

“We’re still very concerned about (budgets),” LaRosa said. “But I told (the officials) a year ago that I would support paying the maximum rate. That’s what I’ve done. We didn’t try to use the pandemic as a way to get out of what we said a year ago.”

Last football season the SGFOA refused to work games without a pay raise, leading to the cancelation of several preseason games in Lee County. The officials did not get a raise but went back to work in Week 1 when a group of local business owners raised money to pay them the equivalent amount for the season.

More: Lee County high school football saved by generosity of local business owners

The GNOA officials did not threaten a work stoppage in Collier County, but only because the schools promised them a raise this season.

If a contract is in place, the concern becomes getting enough officials. Associations around the state have reported shortages for years, and the global pandemic could make it worse.

The FHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee classified football and volleyball as having a high-risk for spreading COVID-19. The SMAC’s recent report deemed it medically unsafe to start those sports, causing the FHSAA board of directors to push back the start of fall practices three weeks to Aug. 24.

Sports officials tend to be older, an age demographic that is at higher risk of coronavirus complications. GNOA president Robb Mackett said the average age of a football official in Florida is 55, and that volleyball refs are slightly older.

Mackett said officials could choose not to work football or volleyball games for other reasons. Those who are young and healthy might have small children or older relatives at home. Some might want to avoid the risk of getting sick and possibly missing work at their day jobs.

Lee County had to move some volleyball games last season because the Gulf Volleyball Association did not have enough officials available to work. Association president Gil Whitmore said there could be even fewer volleyball officials this season.

“There are no other officials (to work games in Lee) anywhere in the state,” Whitmore said. “Collier can’t help us. We can’t help them. There’s rarely an opportunity (for an officials association) to send help to somebody else.”

Without enough officials, volleyball teams might have to spread their games throughout the week. Typically volleyball games are played on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but too many games on one night means not enough officials. LaRosa said volleyball teams could have to alter their schedules in order to get officials.

The Gulf Volleyball Association does not have an agreement with Lee County for the upcoming year. But unlike the football officials, the volleyball group has not sent a preliminary contract to the schools.

That’s because Whitmore doesn’t want his group to be legally obligated to cover games if it doesn’t have enough officials to do so.

“Our contract guarantees we will provide services,” Whitmore said. “With our age and demographics and so many unknowns, we cannot guarantee we can offer those services.”

The biggest sticking point in contract negotiations will be the administrative fees the officials associations charge schools to pay for insurance, scheduling software and the people who do the scheduling. Mantica estimated the SGFOA, which only covers football, charges each school an average of $325.

Typically the schools and sports officials begin negotiations in February. However, contract talks were pushed back as the schools dealt with the coronavirus. The officials are remaining patient and the schools continue to formulate plans to start the year.

“We consider ourselves a great partner with the Collier County school board,” Mackett said. “We understand what they’re going through and we commiserate with them.”