Realignment Plan Would Divide County Into Regions

A proposal to divide Orange County into three geographic regions to realign the area’s 10 athletic leagues will be considered Sept. 1 by county principals.

Huntington Beach Principal Jim Staunton, releaguing committee chairman, said Tuesday the principals will meet at Fountain Valley High School to discuss the plan, which if approved would start in the 1999-2000 school year.

Staunton said the proposal, first presented in June, would be a dramatic departure from how leagues has been formed.

Principals in the three regions would decide which schools go in which leagues. Previously, they voted on one package regardless of how it affected their school.

“I think it’s an opportunity to look at releaguing in a new light,” Loara Principal John Dahlem said. “A lot of people in the south county are upset that people in the north county can determine how they can be releagued and vice versa. Now if they can do it by area, it allows those people to come up with what they feel is viable competition within their geographical boundaries.”

Corona del Mar Principal Don Martin, a critic of how principals have tried to realign the schools, said if nothing else the plan “is a better approach than we’ve had in the past.

“There were certain leagues in some areas made up of one school district, like Huntington Beach, Fullerton and Garden Grove,” Martin said. “They voted as a bloc on everything, meaning you’d have 18 votes never affected by any decision.

“This way, everybody in each area has an impact on how we decide to realign.”

A key ally of the plan could be Esperanza, which has balked at returning to the present Sunset League because of travel costs. But Esperanza officials have had difficulty convincing other north county schools of competitive equity, particularly in football.

“We like this idea,” Esperanza girls’ Athletic Director Dianne Genduso said. “There are schools in the north such as El Dorado, Sunny Hills and Brea we can compete with, and that can compete with us. Other ways have not worked, but this seems fair and equitable to me.”