Santa Margarita Fails in Bid to Join All-Public League

Principals from Orange County’s public high schools on Wednesday rejected a proposal that would have allowed Santa Margarita High School to join an all-public-school league.

They also approved a motion to increase the size of the county’s league realignment committee so that each league would be represented.

The meeting at Foothill High was part of the league realignment process. Every two years the Southern Section gives schools the option of realignment and accepts proposals. Any possible changes in the league realignment will take effect for the 1990-91 school year.

Santa Margarita, a Catholic school in south Orange County that opened last September, was seeking to join Orange County’s 57 public schools in 1990-91. The Eagles currently compete in the Olympic League, a league composed of private schools with small enrollment. But Santa Margarita will have too large of an enrollment to remain in the league by 1990-91, according to Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner.

“Santa Margarita will have far too large of an enrollment to remain among the private schools,” Thomas said at the meeting. “The largest school in the Olympic League is around 700 students. It would be an unfair situation.”

Father Michael Harris, Santa Margarita’s principal, expects that the school would have nearly 2,000 students when it has its first senior class in 1990-91.

Harris, who attended the meeting, had said this week that he would prefer to join a league in Orange County, which would involve less travel time for athletes. Mater Dei and Servite of the Angelus League are the only other large Catholic schools in Orange County.

However, the proposal was defeated. The vote was not disclosed.

“There were a variety of reasons (for the rejection) that I don’t want to go into,” Foothill Principal Jim Ryan said.

Santa Margarita is left with two options, either join a parochial school league or play a free-lance schedule. Harris said he was against the latter.

However, Harris said he was unsure what league the Eagles would join.