Discover how Lubbock-Cooper ISD saved thousands annually by using Arbiter Pay to automate payments for 1099 workers and streamline W-9 compliance, reducing administrative workload across the district.
Lubbock-Cooper High School, located in Lubbock, Texas, is part of the second fastest growing school district in the state. The district uses Arbiter Pay, school payment system, not only for its 5A athletic program, but for all 1099 workers across the district, managing payments efficiently for both athletic and non-athletic staff. The high school began using Arbiter in 2016 and has expanded its use of the school payment system district-wide.
The Situation
Managing payments for Lubbock-Cooper High School’s athletic programs—and the district as a whole—became time-consuming, expensive, and burdensome. The district relied heavily on their Central Office to process payments for dozens of 1099 workers, including officials, event staff, and other independent contractors. The manual process of cutting individual checks, paying for postage, and tracking payments created significant administrative strain. Additionally, verifying W-9 information and sending required tax documents for all contract workers added to the workload.
The Arbiter Solution
When the district adopted Arbiter products, Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Max Kattwinkel began using the Payments and Scheduling solutions to streamline the athletic department. Since then, Lubbock-Cooper has expanded Arbiter Pay’s use district-wide, covering payments for all 1099 workers. Because Arbiter Pay is directly integrated with Arbiter Game, it helped unify scheduling and payments across departments.
- District-Wide Adoption: Now used across departments—not just athletics
- Simplified Process: Payments are faster, with less manual work
- Greater Transparency: Centralized tracking of all 1099 payments
- Improved Staff Experience: No need to juggle multiple systems
Arbiter Pay is a huge money saver! We don’t have to cut individual checks anymore, and we can pay dozens of 1099 workers district-wide each week electronically, saving on postage and eliminating the hassle of tracking each payment. Additionally, Arbiter Game has streamlined our event management, making a huge difference across all our programs.
— MAX KATTWINKEL | ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
Looking Ahead
Lubbock-Cooper continues to find new ways to expand its use of Arbiter—exploring opportunities in areas like transportation, ticket sales, and parent engagement. With Arbiter in place, the district is building a more connected and efficient ecosystem for managing all school-related activities.
