Feud Far From Being Settled: Scheduling Boycott of Private Schools By Public Schools Weighed in State

By Mark Mathis, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Sep. 24–The decision to withdraw Proposal 2 as a possible solution to the public vs. private schools athletics debate could lead to public schools trying to boycott playing private schools.

That was one conclusion of an e-mail that had been sent to public school superintendents throughout the state in August. The e-mail was sent by Somerset superintendent Wilson Sears, one of the leaders of the 2005 movement to create separate playoffs for public and private schools.

“As much as I didn’t want it to come to this, we must agree not to play the private schools in all sports except to qualify for or to participate in championship play,” Sears wrote in the e-mail obtained by the Kentucky Enquirer and posted on its Web site.

That was one of five possible avenues that some public school superintendents discussed as an answer to the Legislative Review Committee knocking out Proposal 2, which would have established feeder schools for every high school in the state.

Discussions have included sending a petition around the state calling for a public school boycott of the private schools.

Administrators contacted in Owensboro said no petition is in the works at the moment.

“There’s some movement to do something,” said Larry Vick, superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools. “There has been some talking about not scheduling private schools.”

Daviess County Schools superintendent Tom Shelton said he would have difficulty signing on to such an agreement.

“From a state standpoint, it is easy because we generally don’t compete against Lexington or Louisville private schools unless we’re in the postseason, a large invitational meet or some kind of tournament,” Shelton said. “Most of the frustration from the public schools has been aimed at those schools.”

The large private schools in Louisville, like St. Xavier, Trinity, Assumption and Sacred Heart, and Lexington Catholic, have been perceived as the main targets of the public-private situation.

“Where it would be difficult is locally,” Shelton said. “It would have a direct impact on the community. We’ve had an excellent relationship with Catholic High.”

If there were issues between Daviess County schools and Owensboro Catholic, Shelton said every effort would be made to resolve them before thought was given to signing a boycott petition.

“I couldn’t support that unless we were where we had exhausted all efforts locally,” Shelton said. “The community deserves better than that. I really think I would struggle locally to support (a boycott). Our community has to come first.”

There could be sharp divisions within Owensboro over the issue, Shelton said, because there are Catholics going to public schools and teaching in public schools, and there are non-Catholics attending and teaching at Owensboro Catholic.

“Not to be throwing stones at my fellow administrators, but it’s pretty easy to be sitting in a rural area where there are no private schools and say ‘we’re not going to play them,’ ” Shelton said.

Jim Mattingly, superintendent of the Diocese of Owensboro schools, agreed that community relations would be damaged.

“It would be harmful to public schools, non-public schools and the communities where they are located,” Mattingly said. “I think the fallout from a boycott would last for generations.”

Vick said the public schools are extremely frustrated with the LRC because it threw out a compromise that took a lot of time and work. Also, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Control and the delegate assembly had moved to make Proposal 2 a solution to the public-private debate.

“It’s pretty obvious that most of the public schools are not pleased with the legislative committee,” Vick said. “They were not very happy with a decision reached by a not very informed committee that was heavily lobbied by the other side. The public schools voted twice pretty overwhelmingly to put the private schools in a separate division. All of the compromising had been done on the part of the public schools. We were hoping this would be put to bed for at least a couple of years with Proposal 2.”

Vick said he felt something needed to be done to keep public school athletes from moving to private schools once they had reached high school, or once they had competed for a public school.

Vick said he has not discussed a boycott petition with Owensboro administrators.

“I’m in favor of a level playing field,” Vick said. “Proposal 2 would solve some of the issues that public schools in this area were concerned with.

“We don’t think the problem has been solved.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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