St. Paul Public Schools is creating a new administrative position to oversee athletics throughout the school district.

Officials said Tuesday that the seven high school athletics directors will report to the new districtwide athletic administrator instead of their school principals.

The new hire will manage the athletics budget, evaluate programs and hire and mentor the high school athletics directors.

“They’ll take athletics in St. Paul to another level,” said Assistant Superintendent Josh Delich, who will give up athletics oversight when the new position is filled.

Hired in July, Delich also oversees leadership development and school improvement and supervises the principals, among other tasks. He said the new hire will attend the many school-level meetings that he can’t always make.

Longtime school board member John Brodrick said the district had a districtwide supervisor for athletics about 20 years ago.

“I think this is a great idea and I was not happy when we discontinued having a citywide athletics director years ago,” he said.

Chauntyll Allen, a newly elected school board member who coaches girls basketball in the district, said the district ought to hire better coaches and work on the academic performance of its student-athletes. But she said there’s no need for a new administrator to do that work.

“I think this is just another opportunity to throw another administrative salary on top of things,” she said.

The new job calls for a salary of between $80,105 and $117,744, although those numbers figure to climb when the next contract for supervisors is approved.

The school board approved the position’s creation Tuesday on a 6-1 vote.