BREAKING AWAY: PRO AND CON : ANALYSIS: ORANGE COUNTY ON ITS OWN: CON : Bigger Can Be Better, Not to Mention Cost Effective

Yes, the Southern Section is big. It’s the eighth largest high school athletic section in the United States.

The schools in the section are located as far north as Mammoth in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and as far south as Calexico on the Mexican border. There’s one school that isn’t even on the mainland, Avalon.

But its enormous size does have its advantages:

--The Southern Section runs the least expensive operation in the state in terms of school dues.

--With so many schools, the section has the best and the brightest administrators to help keep it running.

--Because of its size, the section has substantial clout with the California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees all sections.

The Southern Section, which is an organization operated by principals, has grown to 476 schools since it was formed in 1913. And, during all that time, it has been a relatively smooth operation.

There are some principals and coaches who believe Orange County should become its own section. They cite, among other reasons, the number of schools in the county (73) and complexity of running an athletic section.

However, other principals say the Southern Section covers the needs of the Orange County schools.

“I’m sure an Orange County Section could take care of our needs, but we already have an organization that does that,” Mission Viejo Principal Robert Metz said. “If it’s not broke, why fix it?”

And those who wish to maintain the status quo say the size of the section is not a problem.

“Because of its unique size and the large (office) staff, I think the Southern Section provides a better service for its schools than a smaller section could,” said Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner. “I know the Northern and Central conferences only have one or two people in their offices. We have 16 people on staff.”

Southern Section dues are approximately 23 cents per student. Thomas said the section can offer such a low rate because of its size and the number of corporate sponsors.

The Southern Section began soliciting corporate sponsors in 1978. It has been at the forefront in that regard ever since.

Sponsors represented 21.8% of the section’s $917,000 budget in 1988-89. With so much corporate money coming in, the Southern Section has been able to keep its dues down.

The financial burden of a new section would certainly be more than what the Southern Section charges. A lot more, according to Thomas.

“If another area within the section feels compelled to form its own section, the financial impact of doing business would be a bit of an eye opener,” Thomas said. “It costs us 23 cents per student. No section has a lower rate.

“In Nevada the rate per student is around $1.40. Obviously that’s one of the higher figures. But our dues are lower than those in most states.”

In return for the 23 cents, the Southern Section pays officials, runs championship tournaments for all sports and provides venues for championship games.

And although the principals police their own leagues, it is the Southern Section that provides the framework to the rules. And it’s the section that has to take the heat when rules are challenged.

When Huntington Beach, Savanna and La Puente high schools were denied admission into the recent football playoffs because of ineligible players, the three schools went to court to be reinstated.

In each case, the courts ruled in favor of the Southern Section.

“It seems like the only time people take a look at what the Southern Section does for us is when there’s a problem, like with the Huntington Beach situation,” Metz said. “But they do so much more. They are a support-base group and provide the ethics for us to function by.”

With so many schools, Thomas said the section attracts more than its share of qualified people. Each league has a principal who serves as a council representative and there is a 12-member executive committee.

Orange County is well represented on the section’s executive committee. In fact, one-fourth of its members are from Orange County.

However, the committee has at least one member from all six areas of the section.

“When you have a section as large as this, you’re going to end up with more qualified people,” Thomas said. “It’s only natural. We get opinions from every area of the section. That type of diverse input is invaluable.”

The size of the section can also be an advantage on the state level. The Southern Section has 22 votes on the state federation council, which is considerably more than any other section.

“We have almost 25% of the votes,” Thomas said. “Obviously, when we vote, it has impact.”

Some principals say that the creation of an Orange County Section could become a financial liability.

“I don’t want to jump into it without knowing what it’s going to cost,” Western Principal Craig Haugen said.

Besides the financial questions, there is a problem of the county’s three parochial schools. In the past, Orange County principals have been apprehensive about including a parochial school in a league with public schools.

Last spring, county principals fought hard to prevent Santa Margarita from being placed in the Orange County Area of league realignment. Santa Margarita has been placed in the parochial area.

“I don’t think there are enough Catholic schools in Orange County to have their own league,” said Father Patrick Donovan, Servite principal. “I hope they won’t have an Orange County Section that excludes three Orange County schools.”

CIF SECTIONAL MAKEUP: IS IT TIME FOR A CHANGE? HIGH SCHOOLS IN EACH CIF SECTION (1) Northern: 67 (2) North Coast: 144 (3) Sac-Joaquin: 131 (4) San Francisco: 13 (5) Oakland: 6 (6) Central Coast: 112 (8) Los Angeles: 49 (9) Southern: 476 (Orange County: 73) (10) San Diego: 72 Source: CIF Southern Section

ORANGE COUNTY SECTION?

It has been proposed that Orange County separate from the Southern Section and form a new CIF section. The Southern Section has 476 high schools, 73 of which are in Orange County.