Is Time Right for Orange County to Go Solo? : Superintendents Will Vote on the Proposal in Aug. 20 Meeting

The first step toward forming an Orange County high school athletic section in the California Interscholastic Federation is scheduled Aug. 20, when the county’s superintendents will meet at the Anaheim Union High School District offices.

Superintendents will be asked to vote on a proposal that would allow the county’s 72 high schools, with more than 100,000 students, to break away from the 485-member Southern Section that stretches from San Clemente to San Luis Obispo, and from Calexico to Mammoth.

Many of the county’s superintendents feel the current voting system of the general council that rules the Southern Section is inequitable. Currently, private schools pay 11% of the Southern Section’s dues but control 37% of the votes.

Those who support a new section, which would include all public, Catholic and private schools in Orange County, also point with alarm to the increasing transportation costs and travel time for Southern Section playoff events.

The key issues that could sidetrack approval are expected to be financing and equity of competition among the county’s 15 private schools, most notably the smaller schools with enrollments of fewer than 100.

County superintendents and private school administrators received in June an 87-page feasibility study prepared by consultant Barbara Wilson, a former deputy superintendent in the Tustin Unified School District, and were asked to complete a questionnaire.

They were asked if they were in favor of proceeding with the formation of an Orange County Section of the CIF, and if approved, what timetable they preferred.

If approved by county superintendents, the proposal first would have to be approved by the Southern Section’s Executive Committee, then its general council and then the State Federated Council of the CIF. The proposal is on the agenda for discussion at the Southern Section’s Executive Committee meeting, scheduled for Aug. 22.

“My understanding is all the public schools are saying go,” said Peter Hartman, superintendent of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. “If I had to bet, I would bet that it’s going to happen. The time is awfully close to right.

“The overriding thing, if anything is going to sell this, it’s going to be the transportation difficulty. It’s kind of inevitable that there’s going to be some ‘decentralization’ of the Southern Section. I think it’s too big. I think it’s bigger than it needs to be.”

Stan Thomas, commissioner of the Southern Section, has reservations about the proposal, but added, “If it can be done anywhere, Orange County can make it happen. The area has great facilities and outstanding leadership among its educators and administrators.”

The Southern Section is basically financed by membership dues, sports fees and football and basketball playoff revenues. The section operates under a $1 million budget with half the income coming from playoff revenue. Member schools also pay 23 cents per student and a $15 fee for each sports program in its athletic department.

A move to withdraw from the Southern Section would be the first since San Diego County schools incorporated in 1960. The San Diego Section has 75 member schools and Wilson based many of the figures in the feasibility study on San Diego’s budget.

Wilson’s feasibility study estimates that 72 county schools could operate under a $600,000 budget with $390,000 of the income generated from playoff revenue.

Under Wilson’s plan, dues would be raised from the current 23 cents a school pays the Southern Section for each student to 35 cents they would pay the Orange County Section. Members of the San Diego Section pay 65 cents per student toward an operating budget of $622,000.

County schools also would receive less playoff revenue. The Southern Section splits 50% of the gate with participating playoff schools, but Wilson’s plan calls for the county section to receive 80% and the participating schools 10% each.

The need for corporate support to finance a county section is also obvious. The county section would receive $54,000 from the State CIF’s partnership with Reebok and Pepsi Cola, but the feasibility plan is also banking on another $50,000 to be generated within the section.

“There probably is some corporate support in Orange County,” said Tom Jacobson, Corona del Mar principal and president of the Southern Section’s general council. “I expect the great question is, ‘Would they respond right now?’ These are recessionary times and the timing may not be right.”

Jacobson chaired a committee in 1980 that sought a county section. Jacobson said the proposal gained support of only 40% of the county’s administrators.

“The greatest concern 10 years ago was the financial atmosphere of our schools,” he said. “We weren’t secure financially then, and in many instances, we aren’t now. But this is a serious effort with the superintendents involved. Orange County could function as a section. If the majority wants it, they ought to pursue it.”

Thomas said some serious questions regarding competitive equity and financing must be studied carefully before a decision is made to form the section.

“Some schools fit very nicely, some are caught in between and then what are you going to do with the small private schools?” he said. “Do they (proponents of a new section) understand the costs that are going to be involved? No one from Orange County has come to this office and talked to our accountant.

“There are so many hidden costs like medical and dental benefits, state taxes, office equipment and furniture that keep going up. It costs $70,000 a month to operate this office and it gets more expensive each year.”

Msgr. Michael Harris, principal of Santa Margarita High, said a county section could be formed as soon as 1992 when the next releaguing cycle goes into effect. The cycle is significant because Catholic schools will join public leagues in the county for the first time.

“I don’t have a reading whether this (county section) is a definite thing cast in concrete or whether we’re still in a state of discussion,” Harris said. “My gut feeling tells me we’re moving toward an Orange County section.

“Basically, it will come down to the willingness of school districts to put energy, effort and money behind this movement. If there’s a great enough commitment, this could happen within a year.”

But Tom Triggs, principal of La Habra High and a member of the Executive Committee, warned about moving too swiftly.

“It’s not realistic to believe that a county section will be operating in September of 1992,” Triggs said. “Corporate support will take some time. I think some are being overly optimistic regarding corporate possibilities. There are certainly some question marks here.

“There will be a lot of thought and discussion before this comes to pass. Someday, there will be an Orange County Section. I don’t know how soon it’s going to happen.”

Dennis Evans, principal at Newport Harbor High, was the only administrator interviewed who firmly opposed a county section.

“An Orange County Section is another in a long line of overreactions by Orange County people and a bad decision at this time,” Evans said. “I look at the possibility of a section as a sign of a weakness in the present Southern Section and I think that weakness could be corrected.

“We’re all facing a financial crunch in our districts. We’re all hurting financially. I don’t see a school board saying we need this. I don’t think it will happen.”

On The Road to Forming Orange County Section The time line for a proposal before county school superintendents that would establish a separate California Interscholastic federation athletic section:

November, 1990: Saddleback Valley Unified School District contracts with consultant Barbara Wilson to conduct a feasibility study.

May, 1991: Wilson delivers an 87-page feasibility study to the county’s superintendents.

July 2, 1991: Wilson meets with representatives of private schools to explain how the section would effect them.

Aug. 20, 1991: Superintendents would meet to discuss and vote on the proposal. Seventy-five percent of those voting is required for approval.

Aug. 22, 1991: Superintendents would present the separate section proposal to the Southern Section’s Executive Committee and request the item be placed on an upcoming general council meeting as a non-action item.

Sept. 19, 1991: Southern Section general council would review the proposal and schedule it as an action-item for its next meeting.

Jan. 16, 1992: Southern Section general council would vote on the proposal. A simple majority (34 votes) of the section’s 66 leagues would be needed for passage.

Feb. 7-8, 1992: State Federated Council would appoint a committee to study the impact the new section would have on existing Southern Section.

May 8-9, 1992: State Federated Council would vote on the proposal. A simple majority (52 votes) of 101 council members would be needed for approval.

Proposal’s Pluses, Minuses

When superintendents meet Aug. 20, here are some of the issues confronting them: Advantages

* Greater Autonomy for Decision Making

* Increased Participation of Superintendents

* Less Travel, Classroom Time Lost for Playoffs

* Potential for Greater Corporate Support

* More Community Support and Media Coverage

* Outstanding Facilities for Championship Events Disadvantages

* Increased Dues and Sport Participation Fees

* Equity of Competition for Smaller Private Schools

* Costs of Establishing Administration Building, Staff and Equipment

* Loss of Security and Services in Established Southern Section

* Uncertainty of Economy and Securing Corporate Sponsorships

* Smaller Share of Playoff Revenues

Who Would Be Affected

Public Schools Enrollment League District Anaheim 2,100 Orange Anaheim Bolsa Grande 1,460 Garden Grove Garden Grove Brea-Olinda 1,311 Orange Brea Buena Park 1,675 Freeway Fullerton Canyon 1,729 Century Orange Capistrano Valley 2,350 South Coast Capistrano Corona del Mar 1,125 Sea View Newport-Mesa Century 1,050 Pacific Coast Santa Ana Costa Mesa 1,656 Pacific Coast Newport-Mesa Cypress 1,493 Empire Anaheim Dana Hills 2,500 South Coast Capistrano Edison 1,985 Sunset Huntington Beach El Dorado 1,450 Empire Placentia El Modena 1,600 Century Orange El Toro 2,165 South Coast Saddleback Valley Esperanza 2,300 Empire Placentia Estancia 1,350 Pacific Coast Newport-Mesa Foothill 1,275 Century Tustin Fountain Valley 2,638 Sunset Huntington Beach Fullerton 1,514 Freeway Fullerton Garden Grove 1,552 Garden Grove Garden Grove Huntington Beach 2,200 Sunset Huntington Beach Irvine 2,200 South Coast Irvine Katella 1,655 Empire Anaheim Kennedy 1,650 Garden Grove Anaheim La Habra 1,600 Freeway Fullerton La Quinta 1,410 Garden Grove Garden Grove Laguna Beach 650 Pacific Coast Laguna Beach Laguna Hills 1,300 Pacific Coast Saddleback Valley Loara 1,700 Empire Anaheim Los Alamitos 2,025 Empire Los Alamitos Los Amigos 1,525 Garden Grove Garden Grove Magnolia 1,350 Orange Anaheim Marina 2,200 Sunset Huntington Beach Mission Viejo 1,700 South Coast Saddleback Valley Newport Harbor 1,200 Sea View Newport-Mesa Ocean View 2,042 Sunset Huntington Beach Orange 2,000 Century Orange Pacifica 1,136 Garden Grove Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos 1,240 Garden Grove Garden Grove Saddleback 2,550 Sea View Santa Ana San Clemente 1,960 South Coast Capistrano Santa Ana 2,800 Sunset Santa Ana Santa Ana Valley 2,649 Century Santa Ana Santiago 1,850 Garden Grove Garden Grove Savanna 1,400 Orange Anaheim Sonora 1,230 Freeway Fullerton Sunny Hills 1,850 Freeway Fullerton Trabuco Hills 1,540 Pacific Coast Saddleback Troy 1,300 Freeway Fullerton Tustin 1,770 Sea View Tustin University 1,970 Sea View Irvine Valencia 1,700 Century Orange Western 1,328 Orange Anaheim Westminster 2,365 Sunset Huntington Beach Woodbridge 1,700 Sea View Irvine

Private-Parochial Schools Enrollment League California Lutheran 61 Academy Capistrano Valley Christian 240 Olympic Connelly (all girls) 150 Sunrise Heritage Christian 60 Academy Liberty Christian 85 Academy Mater Dei 2,123 Angelus Orange Lutheran 460 Olympic Pacific Shores 45 Metro Rosary (all girls) 575 Angelus St. Margaret’s 128 Academy St. Michael’s Prep 60 Academy Santa Margarita 860 Angelus Servite (all boys) 660 Angelus Southern California Christian 230 Arrowhead Whittier Christian 720 Olympic