BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana's high schools leaders sparred Tuesday over new plans for football playoffs that would separate
the playoffs for traditional public high schools from those involving private, magnet and charter schools.
Public school principals who pushed the separation told lawmakers the other schools have an unfair advantage because they
have more resources and can cherry-pick their students — and football players.
"We don't get to pick the brightest or the
strongest or the richest kids," said Jane Griffin, principal of
Winnfield Senior
High School and sponsor of the split playoff system rule that was
approved by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
Leaders of the private and charter schools said the change is a form of segregation pushed by public school leaders who resent
successful private school football programs. They said the split playoff system tells students if they don't win, they can
just change the rules to favor them.
"It's offensive to assume if you succeed, you must be doing something wrong. And where does this all end? Does this go to
math competitions?" said Myra Mansur, athletic director of Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge.
The new playoff system will take effect with the upcoming football season, after high school principals voted overwhelmingly
for the change at the LHSAA convention.
All schools will continue to compete in the regular season under the same divisions they have used for years, but the rules
change in the postseason competition.
Five football championships will be held for
the traditional public schools, called "non-select" schools. Two other
division
championships will be held for private and parochial schools,
magnet schools, charter schools and laboratory schools, called
"select schools" based on the idea that they can choose the
students who attend.
Lawmakers created a special committee to
review the playoff change, saying they had received calls from parents
in their districts
concerned about reworking a system that had been in place for 92
years.
They heard from principals and coaches for more than four hours Tuesday, but said they didn't want to meddle in determining
the system rules. Also, it's unclear what authority the Legislature has since the state Supreme Court ruled the LHSAA is a
private firm.
"You are the experts in this, and I would implore of you to solve your problem within your organization," said Sen. Ronnie
Johns, R-Lake Charles.
Supporters of the split system repeatedly
referred to two powerhouse high school football programs that together
have won
38 football championships since 1921: John Curtis Christian School
in Jefferson Parish and Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport.
"When a school is able to dominate for 30 years, then something is going on," Griffin said.
Public school principals and football coaches talked of students from other states and other districts being recruited by
private schools to improve football teams and private schools choosing scholarship recipients based on sports ability. But
they acknowledged their accusations usually weren't forwarded to the LHSAA for investigation.
Kenny Henderson, executive director of the athletic association, said he didn't have any evidence to back up the claims.
Coaches from John Curtis and Evangel defended their schools' performance and said they didn't do anything improper to win
football championships.
"I refuse to make an apology for being successful at what we do," said J.T. Curtis, headmaster and head football coach at
John Curtis, leading the team to 25 titles during his tenure.
Phillip Deas, football coach at Evangel Christian Academy, said the high school athletic association has audited the school's
academic and financial records, finding nothing that violates association rules.
"Maybe we work harder, maybe we teach a different way of thinking, maybe we do something at our place that produces champions
in every way of life," Deas said.
He added: "What does a state championship mean if you have eliminated the greatest competition?"
Public school principals and coaches said they weren't trying to rig the system, but were trying to create an equal playing
field for schools.