The Herald, Sharon,
PA Published Thursday, March 27, 1997

EYE ON YOU column

The fax heard 'round the county

RELATED SPORTS STORY

By Jeff Greenburg
Herald Assistant Sports Editor

WHEN I ARRIVED at The Herald Tuesday morning, in typical droopy-eyed and groggy fashion, I wasn't expecting to get hit with the bombshell that has since become known as the fax heard 'round the county.

That fax, which was circulated recently to area school district superintendents by Sharpsville Superintendent Dr. Derry L. Stufft, proposed the dissolution of the Mercer County Athletic Conference and its reorganization without the county's private schools, George Junior Republic and Kennedy Christian.

And while I would never support such a proposal, at least credit Stufft for bringing Mercer County's dirty little secret, so to speak, into the open.

For years, area coaches, players and fans have complained bitterly of what they perceived was an unfair advantage enjoyed by private schools, but none wanted to discuss it openly. And in defense of Sharpsville and Dr. Stufft, neither did they really. It was not their intention that this fax become public knowledge.

But since it has, maybe it's time area schools open a dialogue on the subject.

The private vs. public school issue has been bantered back and forth for years. In fact, it probably began in the early '70s when the PIAA first invited the state's parochial schools to join the public schools in athletic competition.

It hasn't stopped since.

There is no question private schools enjoy certain advantages over public schools.

But don't kid yourselves, many public schools aren't all that far behind. The number of athletic transfers, for supposedly non-athletic reasons, in area schools has skyrocketed in recent years.

Transfers have become the rule rather than the exception in the state, yet the PIAA continues to waffle when it comes to decisions on an athlete's eligibility. The organization's rulings on eligibility issues can be deemed, at best, inconsistent.

Is there an uneven playing field in Pennsylvania?

At least one PIAA executive doesn't believe so.

``Not really, because private schools are limited to the number of students they could attract,'' Elliot Hopkins, assistant executive director of the PIAA, told The Herald. ``And most private schools require kids to pay some type of tuition. Even though people have the perception that they have the whole world to draw from, they don't.''

But if one party _ in this case certain public schools _ feels it has been aggrieved, then cannot it reasonably argue that an uneven playing field exists?

``As far as the playing field, it's level in that everything is broken down into classifications,'' Hopkins said. ``(The PIAA's) intent is to get more school's participating and that's working.''

In some people's eyes, it isn't.

While the questions most certainly are tough, the real problem comes in the search for solutions, which are tougher to come by.

Some suggest imposing the cooperative sports rules, which force schools to count the number of students from both schools for the cooperating sports, on private schools.

``I don't think that's a viable alternative,'' Hopkins said.

Others suggest forcing private schools to play up one class over their listed enrollment figures.

Whatever the answer is, people can no longer put their heads in the sand and ignore the question. Solutions will only come with open discussion among all area schools, not just a handful in some smoke-filled back room.


Jeff Greenburg is assistant sports editor of The Herald.


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Updated March 28, 1997
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