Big changes are coming to City Section sports
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The Los Angeles City Section has been run by the Los Angeles Unified School District since 1935. But those days are coming to an end.
Barbara Fiege, the City Section commissioner, announced Monday at a meeting of the City Interscholastic Athletic Committee that LAUSD is going to give up a share of authority and responsibility in running the sports program.
Fiege is helping put together plans for two separate offices effective in 2013. One would handle district sports business and the other would run the CIF City Section. LAUSD will continue to pay for coaching salaries and fielding teams of district high schools but will no longer be responsible for running the program.
With the City Section no longer being run primarily by the LAUSD, other public and private schools could join the City Section or leave for the Southern Section. Still to be answered is how the new section will be funded. LAUSD schools do not pay section dues and are not assessed a sports participation fee, as found in the Southern Section.
LAUSD has absorbed those costs over the years. Charter schools have been assessed fees upon entry into the section. Lake Balboa Birmingham, a charter school, pays approximately $8,000 to the City Section. Yet to be decided is how to fund the operation as an independent athletics office.
Fiege said budget and governance issues led to LAUSD’s decision. LAUSD has been paying for housing, staff and operation expenses. There are 75 high schools in the City Section, in addition to almost 40 charter schools, and more are set to join.
Fiege envisions the City Section similar to the San Diego Section, which includes San Diego Unified School District schools and others outside the district.
The new City Section office will be responsible for CIF business, such as governance, administering the playoffs and championships and enforcing CIF bylaws. The LAUSD athletics office will continue to manage the operations of the district sports programs, monitoring compliance and travel arrangements as other districts do around the state.
This is a big change, and we’ll have to see how it all plays out.
-- Eric Sondheimer