Secession Inevitable, but It Could Prove to Be Too Costly Now

Orange County is in the market for its very own CIF high school sports section, shopping for autonomy the same way it shops at The Sharper Image, sizing up that 36-watt Teflon-coated Shiatsu massager with the $199 price tag.

Do we need it?

No, not really.

Do we want it?

Yes, most definitely.

Can we afford it?

Maybe, maybe not.

So, are we going to use Visa or MasterCard?

In this time of stultifying recession and wide-scale education cutbacks, Orange County needs its own CIF section like it needs a hole in the head. Tell that to a secession supporter, though, and he or she will tell you that in “Regarding Henry,” a hole in the head was the best thing that ever happened to Harrison Ford.

Orange County says it is fed up with traveling to San Luis Obispo and Atascadero for first-round playoff games.

Orange County says it is fed up with having its future determined by the vote of some all-girls private school in Ventura County.

Mainly, Orange County got fed up when the Southern Section rammed the parochial-schools-in-the-public-school-leagues issue down its throat. Orange County’s public schools never wanted to share league stationery with the parochials, but now that they’re stuck with them, the thinking is: Let’s make the best of a bad situation and make our break now.

So, Orange County commissioned a feasibility study, digested the resultant 87-page report and set an Aug. 20 date to vote on the issue. If 75% of the county’s high school superintendents say yes--and the early line indicates that the votes are there--Orange County could be going its own way as early as the fall of 1992.

Admittedly, the concept carries with it an initial rush: El Toro and Edison in Anaheim Stadium, playing for the Orange County football championship. A Mater Dei-Marina basketball final at the Bren Center. Sellout crowds for playoff games from Brea to San Clemente. Maybe a future wrestling tournament to give Anaheim Arena something to do.

San Diego County and the City of Los Angeles have their own high school sections. When Banning plays Carson for the City football title, the game draws more interest than UCLA-Oregon State or Clippers-anybody.

If they can do it, why can’t Orange County?

Orange County can, but it had better read over the payment plan a few dozen times. The new toy is expensive and it comes not even partially assembled.

Contrast and compare:

The Southern Section, at present, governs 485 schools and operates on an annual budget of $1 million. It’s administrative office, according to Commissioner Stan Thomas, costs $70,000 per month to run. To foot the bill, every student in the Southern Section pays 23 cents and every school in the Southern Section pays $15 for every athletic team it fields. Playoff revenues are split down the middle--50% to the Southern Section and 50% to the participating schools.

An Orange County Section would govern 72 schools and require a $600,000 yearly budget. It would need to purchase office space and equipment, hire a commissioner, maybe employ a public relations director and a few secretaries. Cost per student would climb to 35 cents and 80% of all playoff revenues would go to the section, with the participating schools receiving 10% apiece.

Bottom line: More cost per school with less potential revenue per school.

With teachers losing their jobs and entire scholastic programs being budget-slashed into extinction, Orange County might be able to live with such an expenditure, but could it live with its conscience?

Don’t feel compelled to answer that question.

In Orange County, high school sports have been too big and too important for too long a time. Secession from the union, a threat for more than 10 years, is inevitable and the Southern Section, weary from the legal volleying across county lines, would welcome the move. Thomas estimates that the Southern Section would lose $200,000 a year if Orange County defected, but the price of peace of mind also has skyrocketed.

In 1989, the Southern Section was sued three times after forcing schools to forfeit football playoff bids. Orange County accounted for two of the lawsuits. This spring, the Southern Section was threatened with legal action after deciding to re-league public and parochial schools together for the 1992-93 academic year. Orange County again.

And who would be fit for the task of Orange County Section commissioner? You? Your worst enemy?

Who out there has the fortitude--and the Advil supply--to withstand one semester in the land of milk and honey and $200-an-hour lawyers?

Very soon, Doug Rader may no longer hold the most thankless job in Orange County.

An Orange County Section, no doubt, is coming some day. The idea has too much sex appeal--Who could pass up a Capistrano Valley-Esperanza baseball final? It even has some practical appeal--Shorter playoff trips mean lower transportation costs and more time spent in the classroom. This is good. This is desirable.

But if Orange County cannot afford it now, that day should be delayed. Buy-first, think-second was the law of the 1980s. Look where that got us.