by ClassBEast » Thu Oct 21, 2010 8:58 am
NDHSAA: 3-class vote on tap today
By: Heath Hotzler, INFORUM
BISMARCK – The latest three-class plan will be voted on today by North Dakota High School Activities Association members.
However, NDHSAA Executive Secretary Sherm Sylling said Wednesday that some schools may be hesitant to vote for this latest proposal because the Board has the power to rework the plan if passed.
“The constitutional bylaws give that latitude to the Board of Directors,” Sylling said. “They can arrange (the plan) however they choose.”
Sylling said the NDHSAA constitution gives the Board authority over the plan if it is accepted today by a simple majority vote of the member schools.
The proposal – authored by several school administrators from across the state – calls for three divisions during the regular season and two state tournaments for basketball and volleyball.
But the consensus of the Board on Wednesday was that members would be asked to vote on the plan as it is written.
“I think in full good faith to our membership, we have to vote on what was on the plan,” Board member Jeff Fastnacht said. “I think, to some degree, we have to say we are sticking by the plan. You vote on the plan. If it goes down, it goes down. If it succeeds, I may not like it, but we’ll live with it.”
A key part of the proposal may need to be changed to sidestep litigation.
NDHSAA attorney Gary Thune told the Board he needed more statistical information before he could determine whether a 1.4 weighting scale for selected schools would be defensible in court.
The 1.4 scale means 1 student would count as 1.4 for a school’s enrollment. So a school that had 100 students would have a 140 enrollment number when the multiplier was applied.
The North Dakota plan would use the multiplier for Fargo Oak Grove, Minot Ryan, Bismarck Shiloh Christian and Dickinson Trinity because they don’t enrollment borders.
Thune said in preliminary research he found several instances of states using weighted systems in high school athletics.
The scales range from 1.35 in Alabama and Missouri to 1.8 in Tennessee.
Tennessee has been involved in lengthy litigation over its weighted scale. Arizona has legislation prohibiting the use of multipliers and Nebraska has twice soundly defeated multipliers, Thune said.
“It’s no secret that the Northeast is not real crazy about this (3-class plan),” Board member Kirk Ham said. “They are tired of the question. The question has been asked. This will be the third time in five or six years. I think they’ve asked the question enough times and I think the membership has told us (no).”
If approved by members, the 3-class plan would be implemented in 2011-12 on a two-year experimental basis.
In other Board news:
- The 2011-12 football plan was approved 7-4.
The plan met resistance from Devils Lake, which has been moved up to the East Region of Class 3A, and Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn, which was moved to 9-man, Region 3 and will have endure lengthy bus trips.
- The NDHSAA Coaches Education Committee moved closer to refining a proposal that would require all coaches in grades 7-12 in North Dakota to receive a permit.
Coaches would need to complete required training in First Aid and safety, fundamentals of coaching and concussions to receive certification.
NDHSAA assistant to the executive secretary Matt Fetsch said North Dakota is one of only five states that do not require any certification for coaches.
“It’s something that has been talked about for awhile, but it’s now being looking into a little more seriously,” Fetsch said. “I think the reason it all kind of started is that so many coaches are off staff and are not educators. It continues with the education-based athletics model that we have.”
The committee would like to have the program approved for the 2012-13 school year.
- The football committee continues to explore the possibility of 6-man football to keep programs available for smaller communities in North Dakota.
Board member Todd Olson said about 10-20 schools indicated interest in 6-man football on a recent survey.
“We’re wondering, as the 9-man schools continue to get smaller and smaller, is 6-man football a good alternative to co-ops,” Olson said.
Olson said the possibility of adding 6-man football will likely come up for discussion in the next year as the next football plan is being put together.