In Ohio high school sports, no issue is more contentious, more controversial or more confusing.
Ted Crow / The Plain DealerHigh school administrators around the state are making their minds up about the most recent effort to even the sports playing field. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In Ohio high school sports, no issue is more contentious, more controversial or more confusing.
"Competitive balance" is the current euphemism for what, at its core, is a public vs. private school sports debate: Do private schools have an unfair advantage, and if so, what can be done about it?
Surrounding that core issue, this time, is a banquet of topics that broaden the discourse -- historical success, school boundaries and free lunches.
There's much to digest.
The question is, who will bite?
We'll know soon.
Currently, more than 830 Ohio high school principals are voting on a groundbreaking referendum issue that would change the way teams are assigned to divisions in football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball and softball. If the referendum passes by simple majority, it goes into effect beginning in either the 2012-13 or 2013-14 school years.
The mail-in vote began May 1 and ends Sunday. Results are expected to be announced next week.
The verdict is difficult to forecast because the referendum is not proposing a simple separation of public and private schools in the playoffs. That has been tried twice and referendums failed by wide margins in 1978 and 1993. It was a straightforward issue then.
This referendum's many nuances have produced a variety of reactions. As a result, principals are falling into one of four camps:
• "It's about time."
• "In the big picture, it won't change much, but it's a step in the right direction."
• "It's a bad idea, but it's not as bad as separation of public and private schools."
• "We like things as they are."
The principals' quandary comes because the referendum has aspects that can please, frustrate and confound all at the same time. One such voter is Manchester football coach and principal Jim France, a longtime proponent of separate playoffs. He said he is voting no on the referendum.
"It took [the OHSAA] over 30 years to admit there was a problem," he said. "If this passes, it'll be another 30-plus years before they do anything else about it.
"I don't like the idea that schools would be punished for past accomplishments. And what's that free-lunch formula all about?"
The referendum boils down to a math equation: enrollment, plus boundary and tradition factors, minus socioeconomic (free lunch) factor equals Athletic Count. The Athletic Count is the school's new enrollment figure used to assign it to its competition division with similar schools.
The boundary factor adds to a school's enrollment an amount between zero and 10 percent, determined by from where it can draw students. There are five subcategories. This would affect private schools as well as public schools in multi-school districts or schools with open enrollment.
This addresses the No. 1 complaint heard about private schools -- that they draw students from across the region.
An interesting twist to this approach is its inclusion of open-enrollment public schools and schools in large districts. In Cleveland, this presents a dilemma: Glenville's successful football team benefits from being able to draw student-athletes who live all over the city, but it won't be affected by this factor because it already is in the highest division (Division I). However, fellow city schools such as Division IV John Hay or Division II John F. Kennedy could be bumped up to higher divisions even though they might actually lose players to Glenville.
The tradition factor adds between six and 10 percent to a school's enrollment if a team has been to the regional final, state tournament or state final in the last four years. The reasoning is "success breeds success," so student-athletes are attracted to a program that has a tradition of success. This is considered an advantage by the proposal's authors, a committee of school administrators, coaches and OHSAA officials.
This is perhaps the most controversial element of the referendum. Opponents call it punishment for being successful.
"The wording of the referendum is problematic. It appears, the way it's written, schools could be penalized based on enrollment figures and success," said Lake Catholic principal Richard Koenig, who said he is voting no.
Lunch factor is the X-factor
The socioeconomic factor has become known as the school-lunch issue. It multiplies the number of free lunch participants by 10 percent, and that number is deducted from the enrollment figure.
This is the X-factor for many voters because the statewide effect isn't as obvious. The proposal aims to address the belief that student-athletes in economically depressed districts might have fewer resources available to participate and be successful. While much of the focus is on football, skeptics point out some strong urban basketball programs are not hindered by the number of free lunches being served.
The bottom line is the proposed format could move programs such as Walsh Jesuit's successful Division II volleyball team up to Division I. But its effect on a football team such as Division II defending state champion Maple Heights is murky because it has open enrollment and a successful team, but also has about 85 percent of its students receiving free lunches, football coach Todd Filtz said.
The referendum is byproduct of a 2010 statewide survey conducted by a group of Wayne County school administrators. They said 78 percent of responding schools supported an enrollment multiplier, 73 percent supported separate state tournaments, and 60 percent preferred separate tournaments over a multiplier. About 40 percent of schools responded to the survey, which caught the eye of the OHSAA. It formed the competitive balance committee, and it wrote the current referendum, which was placed on the ballot by the OHSAA's Board of Control.
Several studies have shown that while private schools account for about 14 percent of the OHSAA, they win more than twice that percentage of state championships. The referendum received additional attention after December's state football finals. Five of the six state champs were Catholic schools; in the Division VI championship game, Delphos St. John's defeated Shadyside, 77-6.
Some worry the referendum merely will reshuffle the deck, moving schools such as St. John's up to Division V, while Division V champ Youngstown Ursuline moves to Division IV and Division III winner Columbus Bishop Watterson jumps to Division II, and so on.
Some principals said the referendum fails to address the large gap between enrollments of the smallest and largest schools in Division I. In the current division breakdown, Division I football consists of schools with more than 517 boys in three grades and the largest school, Fairfield, has 1,227. Of the 119 Division I schools, 42 have more than 700 boys.
"There's definitely a large discrepancy in Division I football due to recruiting at the [larger] Division I schools compared to the smaller Division I schools," said Willoughby South principal Paul Lombardo, who last week was undecided on his vote.
The referendum also won't make a dent on the public-private debate for the largest schools. It will bring more contenders into their division.
"The referendum won't help us, but at least this is a start," said Hudson principal Brian Wilch, who is voting yes.
"Now, if you're a Division IV, V or VI school, that multiplier makes sense."
Some principals did not get lost in the details and looked at the big picture.
"It's a step in the right direction to make competitive high school sports more fair," said Cuyahoga Falls principal Anne Alfano, who said she is voting yes.
Plain Dealer Reporter Bob Fortuna contributed to this story.