Report: Committee studying ways to level playing field
Efforts to create the ever-elusive "level playing field" between CIF-SS public and private schools are continuing, says a report from the Los Angeles Times' Eric Sondheimer. Here is his story:
By Eric Sondheimer
Los Angeles Times
In an attempt to deal with competitive equity issues between public and private school athletic programs, a public/private school committee has put forth three proposals for a first reading at the Oct. 23 Southern Section Council meeting.
The most controversial proposal and one that has already drawn disapproval from the Southern Section Executive Committee would allow leagues to vote on whether to declare a dominant school a "competitive anomaly," forcing the school to leave the league and play a freelance schedule.
It's based on what happened in Northern California when Concord De La Salle switched to a freelance schedule in football because it had become too strong for league opponents.
The criteria to declare a school a "competitive anomaly" would be playing in the Southern Section playoffs five consecutive years, having a dominant won-loss record against league schools over five years and winning the vast majority of its league games by excessive margins over the past five years.
Based on that criteria, Orange Lutheran, Ventura St. Bonaventure, San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret's, Elsinore, Palmdale, Long Beach Poly, Mayfair, Dominguez, Faith Baptist and Montebello Schurr would be among the schools considered a "competitive anomaly" for football.
One school that surprisingly wouldn't be considered is Westlake Village Oaks Christian because it was part of a three-way tie last year and finished third in the Tri Valley League in 2003.
Another proposal from the committee would require all schools to have on file with the Southern Section their financial pay structure for coaches. That would allow public and private school supporters and opponents to determine if there is an inequity in pay.
The third proposal would put in writing that "financial aid, grants or scholarships given to students based soley on athletic prowess is prohibited" and would recommend that an outside independent firm be associated with determining which students can receive need-based financial assistance.
Last school year, there was a proposal to hold separate playoffs for public and private schools. It was pulled before a vote could be taken.
What do you think ... do any of these proposals make sense? Or would you rather see things stay as they are?
Why not put all Catholic Schools in California in a California Interscholastic Federation by themselves and have them compete for State Championships within that Federation. You could call it the Calfornia Catholic Schools Interscholastic Federation. That is the only way to level the playing field. As long as parents pay tuition to send their student athletes to a Catholic school, they are forever going to have a distinct advantage over a Public School. That is because there is no boundary limits for a Catholic School, as it is for a public school. You can have a kid from Oakland come down and live with relatives in Santa Ana, and attend Mater Dei. As long as the kid's parents are paying tuition for him to attend Mater Dei, there is nothing that can be done about it. That is the way the cookie crumbles.
Catholic Schools would compete in the same sector setup as public schools, but instead of a CIF Southern Section or a CIF San Diego Section you would have a CCSIF Southern Section and a CCSIF San Diego Section and so on. The Central, Coastal and Northern Section schools would have the same alignment.
Harold Pringle
Twin Falls, Idaho
Incoming freshmen - public or private - may enroll at any school they desire as long as that school has room to admit them. This is how 7-foot Tyson Chandler, living in San Bernardino, enrolled at Compton Dominguez, a public school. If a kid who lives in Banning wants to enroll at Fontana and Fontana has room to admit him, then he can.