Page 1 of 5 We the undersigned, in accord with Article VI, Section 3, of the MSHSAA Constitution, petition to have the following proposal placed on the 2014 Annual Election Ballot. A valid signature is that of only the school principal or superintendent of a MSHSAA member high school. PETITION REQUESTED BY CHAD BRADLEY, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND BRAD COLEMAN, PRINCIPAL CENTRAL (PARK HILLS) HIGH SCHOOL. EFFECTIVE DATE: REQUESTED TO BECOME EFFECTIVE WITH THE 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR (JULY 1, 2014). Rationale from Petitioners: There is no way to level the playing field between public schools and private schools. The multiplier has not worked. The addition of classes has not worked. There are 70 private schools and approximately 500 public schools in Missouri. Private schools make up only about 15% of the competing teams in MSHSAA championship competitions. Yet, the number of state championships won by private schools is disproportionately higher in many sports. Since 2007, team sports such as volleyball, soccer and baseball have been dominated by non-public schools. In country club sports such as golf, tennis, and swimming the disparity is even greater. State Championships won by Sport by Private Schools/Charter Schools since 2007 Boys Sports: Girls Sports: Swimming 100% Soccer 82% Soccer 100% Tennis 64% Golf 75% Golf 57% Tennis 67% Volleyball 46% Baseball 32% Basketball 20% Cross Country 29% Track & Field 13% Basketball 20% Wrestling 17% Track & Field 13% The following sports are the only sports that the percent of private school state championships do not outnumber the percent of private schools competing. Girls Swimming 0 State Champions 7% private compete Girls Cross Country 4% state champions 14% private compete Softball 7% state champions 7% private compete Football 11% state champions 12% private compete There have also been accusations of undue influence, non-resident students competing on non-public teams, lack of geographic restrictions on non-public schools and recruitment of middle school and club sport athletes. Many recognize there are issues with private schools competing with public schools and the un-level playing field that is created by the inherent differences in rules governing public schools, private schools and charter schools. We have not been presented a remedy, short of separation, to the public-private issue. Therefore we recommend a separate state tournament series for public schools and non-public schools beginning in the 2014-2015 school year. To amend the MSHSAA By-Laws to require separate districts and state series tournaments for non-selective public member schools and schools that have selective enrollment policies and are exempt from MSIP requirements in activities that qualify for more than one classification, as shown below. New language is underlined and stricken language would be deleted. 1. 4 COOPERATIVE SPONSORSHIPS 1.4.1 High School Cooperative Sponsorships: With the approval of the MSHSAA Board of Directors, students from two public member high schools or from two selective member high schools may be combined to cooperatively sponsor interscholastic activities provided such is necessary to either have a sufficient number of students to support a program or will result in increased opportunities for students to participate and provided the following conditions are met:
Page 2 of 5 d. The districts of the two schools must be contiguous or overlapping, or the two schools must be in the same public school district. The borders of the entire public school district in which a non-public school is located will be used to determine contiguity for purposes of a cooperative sponsorship that includes that non-public school (see item i also). Non-contiguous or non-overlapping districts that are isolated from a specific activity may request approval from the Board of Directors to form a cooperative program if it will increase the opportunities for students to participate. i. If a public school (a contiguous public school or a non-public school located within the boundaries of a multi-school district) wishes to co-op with a public school in a multiple high school district the superintendent of that multi-school district will determine which of his/her schools will form the co-op with the non-district school. When co-oping in this manner, all sports and activities must be cooperatively sponsored with the same school. 5.1 DISTRICT AND STATE TOURNAMENT PROCEDURES 5.1.1 Member Schools: All district and state events sponsored by MSHSAA shall be for member senior high schools only, or those member schools planned for and evolving as senior high schools which include the tenth grade or higher grades in their enrollments. For the purposes of enrollment and classification, the following definitions are provided: a. Public: High Schools under the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and which are subject to the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) guidelines. b. Selective: Any high school that has the ability to limit its enrollment through selectivity and is exempt from the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) guidelines. This category includeds Charter schools. c. Separate Championships: MSHSAA shall sponsor separate district and state series tournaments for public member senior high schools and for selective member senior high schools in activities with more than 128 total member schools participating [which pass on the Annual Ballot], except for Music and Speech/Debate/Theatre. [Proposed for Separate Championships: All sports and activities are proposed for separate championships except Music (evaluative rather than competitive), and the one class activities of Speech/Debate/Theatre, 8-man Football, Boys Swimming/Diving, Girls Swimming/Diving, and Spring Girls Softball.] 5.1.2 and 5.1.3 no changes 5.1.4 Classifications: For competition in district and state athletic tournaments or meets, member high schools as defined in Article III, Section 1, shall be divided into a maximum of six classes, based on the number of schools registered for districts in the activity. Affiliate Registered Schools are not eligible for districts or the state series. In order for a district and state series to be sponsored by MSHSAA for an activity, a minimum of 50 public schools in three Board Districts must be registered for the activity for a period of two consecutive years. (See By-Law 5.2, Emerging Activities.) The procedure for grouping schools into classes for each sport shall be established by the Board of Directors. a. Combined Tournaments: Activities with 50 to 128 schools registered will participate in one class and will include both public and selective schools. b. Public School Tournaments: Other than specified exceptions (football) the number of classes in each activity shall be based on the number of public schools entering the state series in that sport as follows: One class -- 50 through 128 schools. Two classes -- 129 through 192 schools. Three classes -- 193 schools through 256 schools. Four classes -- 257 through 512 schools. Five classes -- 513 through 576 schools. Six classes -- 577 or more schools. b. Selective School Tournaments: The Board of Directors shall determine by activity whether more than one class is necessary for the selective school tournaments based on safety and equity. 5.1.5 Co-Ed Enrollments: High schools shall be classified on the basis of their coed enrollments in grades 9-12. The enrollment of any school that has the ability to limit its enrollment through selectivity and is exempt from the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) guidelines shall be multiplied by a 1.35 adjustment factor for classification. The enrollment for a single gender school shall be doubled. For single gender schools that are also selective and MSIP exempt, an enrollment adjustment factor of 1.35 shall then be applied for classification. 5.1.6 no change 5.1.7 11-Man Football: For safety purposes, public schools shall be divided into six five classes in 11-man football, regardless of the number of schools registered. Schools participating in the State 11-man Football Playoffs shall be reclassified every two years beginning with the 1988-89 school year and every two years thereafter. The Board of Directors shall be authorized to assign all public schools entering the state 11-man football playoffs to districts and to require each school to play all other schools within the assigned district during the regular season to determine qualifiers for the state playoffs.
Page 3 of 5 5.1.8 no change 5.1.9 Girls and Boys Athletic Activity Within the Same Season: Public schools participating in cross country, track and field and basketball shall be divided into classes based on the enrollment of the gender with the larger number of public schools participating in the district and state series. 5.1.10 delete 5.1.11 delete 5.1.12 Girls Softball: MSHSAA shall sponsor two girls softball championship series seasons, one to be held in the fall and one to be held in the spring. The provisions of By-Laws 5.1.1 and 5.1.4 shall be used to determine public and selective school tournaments and classes in softball. Individual member schools may register for one championship series, not both. Schools registering for fall regular season softball and the fall championship series may participate in the spring regular season for softball but may not participate in the spring championship series. Schools registering for spring regular season softball and the spring championship series may not participate in the fall regular season nor the fall championship series. 5.1.13 delete SUMMARY: This amendment, if adopted by the member schools, would 1) restrict a public and a selective school from forming a cooperative sponsorship during the regular season or the state series, and 2) require that the MSHSAA sponsor separate district and state championship series for public and selective member high schools in activities that qualify for more than one class. The reclassification into separate district and state tournament series would take place at the beginning of the next two year classification cycle, effective with the 2014-15 school year. A valid signature is that of only the school principal or superintendent of a MSHSAA member high school. Position Signed (Principal or Superintendent) School Please appropriate space Only One Signature Per Member School
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