Civil War in Louisiana – Public vs Private

Football playoffs in Louisiana split for private, public schools
By Dave Schmidt – www.theseniorreports.com

 

(February 13, 2013) - Many states are facing this issue and the next state to consider separate (all sports) tournaments will be in Ohio this coming May.  We have a page dedicated to this subject – www.theseniorreports.com/shakeup.htm . Also an article that featured The Senior Reports gives some background on this topic - Public-private war in high school sports is national issue - http://www.rrstar.com/sports/x465798996/Public-private-war-in-high-school-sports-is-national-issue  .  Louisiana seems to be in a state of flux over this issue and time will tell what the future holds.  Talks of the private schools forming a new association have surfaced, just as they have in Ohio.  Many states across the US have separate associations with Texas and North Carolina being two of those states. 

Are there solutions?  Here is what we suggested to Ohio schools on both sides before they vote:

 

*Form a committee of administration and school board members to discuss the situation and be sure to keep your district updated on how you vote on this issue

 

*Find out how your fellow conference members will vote on these issues

 

*Ask area schools on how they might vote on these issues

 

*In areas where possible form a small group of public and privates to discuss the issues to be voted on and work to find some solutions

 

*Ask the OHSAA for as much information as possible on the financial loss or gains from adding more tournaments

 

*Will private schools leave to form a new association and how will that make changes in future scheduling for both sides

 

*Private schools will you leave if the vote is to separate tournaments

 

*Down to 700 public schools, how will this effect current class sizes in various sports

 

*Are there advantages to having separate tournaments and will they solve the issues facing the OHSAA

 

*If this vote fails to separate tournaments will your school be willing to move forward

 

These are just a few items that we hope you will consider in this very important vote.

 

The entire is article is located at -  http://userpages.bright.net/~wkki/preparedtovote.htm

 

At this point in time many bridges have burnt in Louisiana.  Will they survive this change in their association?  If the situation was based on facts and not feelings it might be able to be worked out. Only time will tell what happens and how it works out for both sides. 

 

The Senior Reports asked the following to private schools around Louisiana and asked for a statement:  We also have asked public schools about the recent vote and how they viewed it.  Below are the replies to our email from schools below-

 

Email-

We would like a statement from you about the football playoffs in Louisiana being split for private and public schools, we will be asking several private schools. Would also like to know if private schools decide to form a new association what action will your school take. 

 

 

EDITOR’S NOTEThanks to those who sent us a reply on this issue

 

From Steve Folmar,  Principal, Covenant Christian Academy

We would be more than happy to form a private association. I have never been so insulted in my life as I was at this meeting. Without any regard for the private school people in the room these public school principals made charge after charge of cheating and lack of character. Why would any private school want to continue associating with these people? What they will have in the future will be a paper champion.

 

John Gabriel, High School Principal, Ursuline Academy, New Orleans

We at Ursuline Academy, New Orleans are assessing our options in light of the LHSAA decision on Friday, January 25th.  I think it is in the best interests of Ursuline – and the rest of the schools hereby designated “select” – to work together to best address the needs of our respective institutions and the needs of the students we serve.  I am particularly concerned about remaining in an association that delegates us into an inferior status for the playoffs after utilizing us as members of the Association during the regular season.  I don’t think “select” schools should be used to subsidize playoff costs for “non-select” schools.  And I need to remind the all-girls schools who are members of the Association that a measure to segregate all sports remains tabled after Friday’s meeting.  We cannot afford to view Friday’s result as the end of the matter – just as we cannot afford to separate ourselves from “select” schools who offer football.  The break which occurred on Friday has the potential to widen considerably, and we “select” schools must be prepared to protect our interests, regardless of how the Association fares in the process.  We must also be willing to sacrifice short-term difficulties to achieve long-term solutions.

 

Ted Nixon, Principal, St. Louis Catholic High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana

 This is to notify you that ALL of the selected for separate playoff schools are not happy. In our state both Football and Non-Football schools were allowed to determine the fate of the playoff system that has worked for 67 years in Louisiana. Some of the schools were thrown under the Bus like my school. The group of principals that proposed the split were very selective in putting ALL of the 2012 State Football Champions in the Select category. They really ambushed the Selected the Schools making for a Weaker Title for each of the divisions and in the meantime saying to our kids “We are not allowing you to Play with us after we get your gate money in regular District Play”!!! People who are successful and work hard are punished. As our educational system gets bad and students are flocking to SELECT schools, we must let them know that if they become successful then Prejudice will show up at their door.

 

 

Wes Watts, Principal, Zachary High School

 I voted against splitting into Select and Non Select divisions for several reasons.

 

1-      We should all play against each other period, it makes us all better.

2-      There is an advantage in Select Schools being able to draw students from all over instead of an attendance zone but, there is no such thing as a perfectly level playing field in any part of life.  There are advantages for schools or teams at all levels.  Someone will always have some type of advantage so what do you do?  You work harder and do what it takes to be successful.   

3-      It makes no sense to split Football when Select schools win 95% of the Volleyball and Cross Country State Championships and approximately 50% of the Football.  Why are we splitting Football? 

4-      I feel like we are punishing some for being great.

5-      Athletics is not all about winning the State Championship trophy, even though we all want that.  It is about winning a state championship every day by teaching work ethic, unity, sacrifice, rising to the competition, and how to handle success and failure.

 

There are some adjustments that need to be made and even some changes that would work but splitting is not one of them.  I would like to see schools allowed to play up all the way to 5A or give Select schools some type of adjustment to their enrollment.  Maybe count every student as two for athletic purposes which would move them up in classification.  There is no perfect system or perfectly level playing field.  What we have is pretty good and making adjustments is the answer, not splitting and destroying what we have. 

 

From LHSAA’s Executive Director - Kenny Henderson-

 

The following is a copy of the proposal that was passed by our member school principals this past Friday by a vote of 206-119. 

 

18. Amend Section 14-Football, by adding, amending, or deleting the following rules in the follow Sections of the       LHSAA By-Laws:    

 

      14.3.1  Schools shall compete in Classes 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A and shall compete in districts as adopted by the LHSAA Executive Committee.  The schools in each district shall consist of both select and non-select admission schools.  Effective for the 2013-2014 season and thereafter, football schools shall be sub-divided into select admission and non-select admission schools for playoff competition.    

 

      14.3.2  A non-select admission school is a public school that has a designated attendance zone.  For playoff competition, schools that are classified as non-select schools shall compete in Classes 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A.

     

      14.3.3  A select admission school is a public or non-public school that has an admission policy to select the students who attend the school. Select admission schools shall include all non-public, charter, university lab, and magnet schools. Dual-curriculum schools that include at least 25% of their enrollment as select admission students who do not live in the designated attendance zone shall also be included as a select admission school.  For playoff competition, schools that are classified as select schools shall compete in two divisions.  Schools in Classes 5A, 4A, and 3A shall be combined to form Division I and schools in Classes 2A and 1A shall be combined to form Division II.

 

      14.12.4      For select admission schools, 32 teams shall qualify for the state playoffs.  The head coach of each team in each division will seed the respective teams in their division. The head coaches in Division I and Division II will seed their divisions on the dates listed in Rule 14.1, Important Dates, in this section.

 

      14.12.5      Each coach will receive an information sheet containing the teams in their division. The information will include the team’s district finish, overall record, district record, power ranking and strength factor. The coaches will rank the teams in their respective divisions, 1-31 (1 being considered the best team in the state. Each coach will leave their respective team out of the ranking.)

 

      14.12.6      Head coaches will have a time frame between 8:00 a.m.and 12:00 noon to submit their ranking form to the LHSAA via email from the principal’s office. After 12:00 noon, the ranking sheets shall not be accepted by the LHSAA office. Once the ranking emails are received, the points will be added up and the 32 teams will be placed on the bracket according to their ranking.

 

                  All rules or parts of rules that conflict with this rule shall be amended accordingly.

 

The LHSAA has 291 schools that compete in the sport of football.  Under this new proposal, approximately 80 schools will be placed in the “select” divisions. 

 

We are still in the process of breaking down this proposal to see exactly what it means to the LHSAA in terms of logistics.  We play our state football championships in the Super Dome (since 1983) and with the addition of 2 more games we have to work out many details.  This proposal will definitely change the landscape of football in our state. 

 

More information can be found on our Louisiana site – www.theseniorreports.com/louisiana.htm