By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — Dealing with an emotional issue, school administrators went stone cold analytical.
Good for them.
Sensibly, a majority rejected a plan that would have established separate state championships for public and private schools and made a sham of the trophy presentations. That done, they addressed the crux of the matter by overwhelmingly approving a proposal to clamp down on athletes who transfer from public to private schools after proving worthy against varsity competition.
Needing 67 percent of the vote to pass, Proposal No. 7 received less than 45 percent. A total of 212 schools signed up to vote and five abstained. Only 93 said “yes,” almost 50 shy of the number needed for passage.
One reason that the vote was so overwhelming was that the administrators knew that Proposal No. 8 was more relevant, that it actually attempted to address the perception that some private schools are guilty of recruiting. Junior highs, which could not vote on Proposal 7, were eligible to vote on No. 8 and it was approved 247-25.
Under Proposal 7, there would have been separate state championships for schools that provide need-based financial aid and those that don’t. If it had been approved, some private schools would have dropped financial aid and remained in what was to be called Division I, still playing against public schools in the state championships. As a fallout, Division II might have included only a handful of schools, including Catholic schools which would have continued their long-time practice of giving financial aid.
The Arkansas Activities Association has been wrestling with the public vs. private issue for 10-15 years. Mike McSpadden, the assistant superintendent at Alma, was involved for nine years as a member and former president of the AAA board.
He says there are few options remaining. One possibility, he says, is to move the highly successful private schools into the state’s top classification, 7A. He says that, knowing full well that 7A schools would not embrace such a move.
He has high praise for the efforts of AAA director Lance Taylor and his predecessor, Jimmy Coats, but says “I am not very optimistic that there is a solution other than having two completely separate organizations.”
The Arkansas Non-public School Association, governing agency for the private schools, could help by policing its members which also belong to the AAA.
Some of the private schools helped craft Proposal 8, which says that students who transfer from a public school to a private school must enroll before July 1 prior to the seventh grade to be immediately eligible for athletics. Students who enroll later than that must sit out 365 days, an effective roadblock for athletes who might switch from public to private after the ninth grade.
A key word is transfer. A student whose parents make a legitimate move, such as job-related, is immediately eligible to participate.
If a private school pulls a Lane Kiffin and recruits a seventh grader with a pedigree, that can be addressed later.
Earlier in the summer, the Tennessee coach offered a scholarship to 13-year-old Evan Berry, brother of Vol safety Eric Berry and son of former Tennessee running back James Berry. Evan recited the family legacy and said he had committed to Tennessee.
In an ideal world, things would go like they did in Class 2A basketball this year. St. Joseph’s, a private school at Conway, won boys basketball, finished second in girls basketball and was awarded the sportsmanship trophy.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
