By Amy Donaldson, Deseret News
Published: Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010 11:33 p.m. MDT
Utah is unique.
And nowhere is that difference highlighted more than in high school sports and activities.
Utah has 139 schools that participate in activities and athletics sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association.
And while the mission of the UHSAA is to offer the opportunity to participate to as many students as possible, it is the mission of many involved in athletics that students experience success.
The problem is that there are a lot of different definitions of success.
Almost none of them, however, include losing on a regular basis. Which, of course, is where fairness enters into the discussion about how to present those athletic opportunities to students.
Fairness is why we don't ask West Desert, a school with a population of 12 students, to compete against Riverton, a school with a population of more than 2,000 students.
But in separating schools into regions and classifications, there is a lot more to consider than population. And finally, for the first time, the UHSAA's Board of Trustees is trying to consider some of the issues that affect schools besides population numbers.
After admitting they'd made some mistakes in the last alignment, the BOT formed a committee to study the process and the issue. Spearheaded by Highland High principal Paul Schulte, the committee brought representatives from every classification and situation to the table.
They studied six years of trends and came up with a new realignment model that hopes to do two important things — keep politics out of the process and create a more fair playing field.
It's a tall order.
Maybe an impossible task.
But as Schulte said in the last BOT meeting, "We're on our way to a far better product. I'm 100-percent confident with that."
One immediate difference is that the realignment will now take place every two years. BOT members will also use more current numbers and only junior and senior class enrollment for 4A and 5A schools as that takes into account mobility and lower graduation rates, both of which affect the ability of a school's teams to compete.
Without knowing this year's enrollment numbers, the BOT voted to divide the schools like this:
5A-24 schools (four regions of six schools)
4A-24 schools (four regions of six schools)
3A-28 schools (four regions of seven schools)
2A-20 schools (two regions of ten schools)
1A-36 schools (five regions)
While some criticize for not waiting until the 2010 numbers were released to decide how many schools in each classification, Schulte said making the decisions without names would remove some of the political posturing that always seems to accompany realignment.
There are also bigger differences in the smaller classifications (3A-1A), which bothered some observers. Those larger ratios have always existed in the smaller classifications because the population numbers at those schools is so much smaller.
Still, not much can be done to make the situation more fair for schools with two dozen students competing against schools with 100 students. Most 1A and 2A schools have dealt with travel and small student bodies since they began participating.
That's why many small school athletes participate in more than one sport or activity.
So which is worse — a school of 24 competing against a school of 100? Or a school of 700 competing against a school of 1400 students?
In most sports, the larger school might have an advantage, but it's football that really changes the nature of the debate. Getting blown out in basketball might be embarrassing. In football, it can put a kid in the hospital.
Only eight 1A schools play football and getting the alignment right for them is critical.
The bottom line is that once again, the BOT will listen to the individual stories of various schools and try to do what's right. Once again, travel time and missed classes will be offered as reasons to put a school in a specific region or class. Rural schools already struggle with this issue and this is the one time at least some of the urban schools will understand their dilemma.
Now that the numbers are out, the UHSAA staff will place schools into the already designated regions and classes. It will go strictly by numbers at first.
Those placements will be announced at the next BOT meeting on Oct. 27.
The public will be allowed to comment on the first placement at a hearing on Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
And while it won't be flawless, much of the work is already done. Principals have said they will live with where the numbers put them. School boards have said they like the new plan because it allows them to redraw boundaries or make other changes that will keep schools together or in certain classifications.
But what sounded good in theory will be put to the test when the schools are named.
Here's hoping that what emerges is more civilized, more fair and, in the end, better for the students of all schools — no matter how large or small.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700072671/UHSAA-on-its-way-to-better-product.html?s_cid=Email-5
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