Published: March 6, 2015
WIAA member conference suggests disbandment
Six Rivers believes competitive inequality exists
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
A proposed success factor for WIAA postseason tournament
placement is not good enough for one member conference and it’s not happy, even
suggesting it may look at disbanding from the WIAA.
The Six Rivers Conference has gathered enough signatures on
a petition for the WIAA and its membership to consider a free and reduced lunch
reducer to determine postseason tournament placement, with the likelihood of a
1.65 enrollment multiplier also being voted on as, according to the WIAA’s
Annual Meeting Parliamentarian Chris Sadler, no action was made on the
multiplier proposal.
This comes about three months after the membership voted to
have an ad-hoc committee research competitive equity in the WIAA and suggested
a success factor plan to help bridge the perceived gap between public and
nonpublic schools.
At about this time last year, the same conference, which is
in southwestern Wisconsin, presented a petition and proposal for a 1.65
enrollment multiplier for WIAA postseason tournaments to be placed on nonpublic
school members.
“Our goal is to level the playing field,” Belmont
Superintendent Jim Siedenburg said.
Belmont is a member of the Six Rivers Conference, along with
Albany, Argyle, Barneveld, Benton, Black Hawk, Cassville, Highland, Juda,
Monticello, Pecatonica, Potosi, River Ridge and Shullsburg.
In April, the WIAA membership voted to create an adhoc
committee to explore the Six Rivers Conference’s proposal of a 1.65 enrollment
multiplier.
In December, the committee of 22 administrators introduced a
Success Factor plan where schools earned points based on tournament success and
then be placed in an appropriate division based on that success. The WIAA’s
Board of Control approved the proposal for it to be placed on the WIAA Annual
Meeting agenda.
The meeting is April 22 in Stevens Point.
This is not a good idea, according to Siedenburg and
Barneveld Superintendent Kevin Knudson.
“We wanted to start somewhere and help the smaller schools
who have a lot of private schools in the tournament series,” Knudson said.
“The Success Factor is not what we were looking for,”
Siedenburg said. “It’s not our intent to penalize success.
“I don’t like it.”
The Six Rivers Conference, according to Siedenburg is spread
across most of southwestern Wisconsin with some conference teams about two
hours apart.
“We don’t have 50,000 students to draw from,” he added.
Unhappy with the ad-hoc committee’s result, Siedenburg and
his colleagues within the conference went back to work to address the issue of
competitive inequality.
While happy the members are exercising the rights within the
WIAA Constitution, Executive Director Dave Anderson is struggling with the
conference’s claims as data doesn’t necessarily reflect it.
“From our office, we have decades of data, before private schools
were members and since they’ve been members,” Anderson said. “One needs to look
very deeply at data to determine what is reality.
“I recognize that when we talk about athletics, adrenaline,
emotion, passion and tenacity are primary drivers that shape one’s
perspective.”
Five years ago, Anderson and members of his executive staff
traveled the state, like it does each year, for seven area meetings.
At those meetings, the idea of a competitive inequity being
an urban vs. rural issue was brought to the membership, which is more than 500
schools in the state.
At that time, Anderson said there was overwhelming support
to not treat sectors of the membership differently. The ad-hoc committee made
that a goal during its research as well.
“One-hundred fifty kids in a rural area doesn’t look like
150 kids from a private school in an urban area,” Siedenburg said.
Knudson hopes the success factor is voted down by the
membership, but votes in favor of the enrollment multiplier, and the free and
reduced lunch reducer.
“If we can get these two things passed, we’re taking a big
step forward addressing the equity issue,” Knudson said.
❑
How it started
The Six Rivers Conference has remained vigilant to address
competitive equality in the WIAA and the vigilance started in March 2013, a
year before the 1.65 multiplier was proposed.
In a letter obtained by the Daily News, the Six Rivers
Conference’s commissioners wrote to the WIAA’s Board of Control, dated March
19, 2013, addressing the topic.
“In boys state tournament competition over the past 10
years,” the letter states, “private schools have comprised 21 percent of the
small school division. However, 33 percent of the schools reaching the final
four of the small schools division have been private.”
Private schools were integrated into the public school
membership when the WISAA folded in 2001. WISAA consisted of only nonpublic
schools.
The letter notes most of the private schools in Wisconsin
come from large population areas, such as Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Stevens Point,
Green Bay, Oshkosh and Eau Claire.
“By comparison,” the letter states, “the combined
populations of the 14 school districts that make up the Six Rivers Conference
is less than 14,000.”
The letter also notes a concern in 2013 when St. Ambrose
Academy in Madison expressed interest in joining the conference. The request
has reservations because of the school’s ability to draw from a larger
population.
River Ridge has the largest enrollment in the conference
(136 students).
In a letter obtained by the Daily News from Anderson to the
Six Rivers Conference, Anderson wrote March 27, 2013, a multiplier was rejected
when the nonpublic schools joined the public schools in the WIAA.
“In lieu of a multiplier,” the letter states, “the membership
supported adding a fifth division in basketball. Thereby providing a, not worse
than, 2:1 enrollment ratio across all divisions, which was believed to be
competitively equitable and viable.”
On April 17, 2013, the Six Rivers Conference responded to
Anderson’s letter, ending it with “There is a saying that there is nothing more
unequal than the equal treatment of unequals. We reaffirm our opinion that
public and private schools of similar enrollment are not equal.”
❑
It’s getting heated
Knudson, Siedenburg and their colleagues suggested if the
WIAA and its members keep status quo, don’t be surprised if schools look to
disassociate itself from the WIAA.
“Dave (Anderson) needs to open his eyes to this stuff
because people are mad,” Knudson said.
“They’re ignoring us,” Siedenburg said. “We stand for our
kids.”
“The WIAA is really underestimating the strength of
dissatisfaction,” he added.
In a letter dated Feb. 12 and obtained by the Daily News,
the Six Rivers Conference sent out a petition to every WIAA member
administrator seeking support for a free and reduced lunch reducer instead of
the success factor, created by the ad-hoc committee.
“We feel this approach does not address competitive inequity
between public and nonpublic schools,” the letter states. “Furthermore, it was
never our intent to punish success.”
Anderson praised the efforts made by the ad-hoc committee
and doesn’t believe success is being punish.
Anderson cited an example of advanced placement courses. If
a student excels in standards classes or lowerlevel classes, then why not
challenge that student in a harder setting?
“It’s a new challenge and a new opportunity,” he said.
Sixty members signed the petition, which was enough to
advance the proposal to the WIAA’s Board of Control to consider it for April’s
annual meeting.
The Board of Control is scheduled to meet March 13.
“There are some that have a concern about competitive equity
and their opportunities,” Anderson said. “Some believe there’s a problem,
others that don’t.”
No Washington County schools signed the petition.
One surprise on the list was Neenah, a school with an
enrollment of 1,900 students.
“The WIAA is not in the margin, an extreme out there state
as far as how we determine division placement,” Anderson said. “There’s about
25 states like we are.”
“The success factor is one of the new handicaps,” he added.
“It started three years ago in Indiana. It may look like one of the more
promising things.”
❑
What is the free and reduced lunch reducer?
It is a method that will determine postseason tournament
divisional placement, if passed. It will take into account the number of
students in a school who receive free or reduced lunches. Forty percent will be
used in the equation, the same as Minnesota.
The formula will be: total enrollment minus number of
free/reduced lunch students equals enrollment for divisional placement.
Here are the numbers for Washington County schools (based on
projected 2015-16 enrollment figures):
■
Germantown: 1,399 to 1,312
■
Hartford Union: 1,410 to 1,274
■
Kewaskum: 611 to 556
■
Slinger: 968 to 917
■ West
Bend East: 1,163 to 1,027
■ West
Bend West: 1,139 to 1,001 Private school numbers —
Kettle Moraine Lutheran and Living Word Lutheran —
weren’t available.
“I have always believed since coming into WIAA office, I
have an overwhelming belief in this membership in their collective wisdom,”
Anderson said. “These are educated people and caring people.”
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