Latest Prep League Plan Faces Hard Test

At today’s Southern Section Council meeting in Buena Park, Esperanza Principal Ray Plutko is expected to present the principals’ proposal to realign Orange County’s 10 athletic leagues for the next two years. It’s a proposal that has been worked on, argued, presented, rejected, reconsidered and reconfigured by the 62-member committee for more than a year.

Then Plutko, who successfully appealed the proposal at last October’s council meeting, citing geographical hardship for Esperanza, will ask the council to reject it again. But this time he won’t be alone.

Several county principals said they would speak against the plan, which was approved with a 42-19 vote by the principals Jan. 8.

Last Friday, the section’s executive committee announced plans to develop a proposal governing the area placement of schools for realignment purposes--a proposal that would take effect in the 1999-2000 school year and require affected areas to realign at that time. Subsequently, a strong movement seems to have developed among county principals to scuttle their proposal and keep all leagues intact for one more year.

Many of the status quo proponents see the executive committee’s proposal as a possible way to remove four of the county’s private schools--Mater Dei, Santa Margarita, Servite and Rosary--from public school leagues. This has been a sore spot for many public school administrators, coaches, players and fans since the section placed private schools in public leagues eight years ago.

Among the items in the principals’ proposal include moving Mater Dei from the South Coast League into the Sunset League--making it a seven-team league--and moving Santa Margarita from the Sea View League into the South Coast League. Neither school would be allowed to compete for league titles or automatic berths in the section playoffs in 11 varsity sports, including football, basketball and baseball.

“Our proposal has problems, and I don’t think there is a true consensus among the schools affected by it,” said Los Alamitos Principal Carol Hart, whose school is a Sunset League member.

“The problem for the Sunset is having a seven-team format this late,” Hart said. “There will be problems getting games scheduled for the season this late. It isn’t an equitable situation; there is no one to match up with in Orange County for the extra game because no other league is open. But there will be a solution at [today’s] meeting. We will not go unleagued in Orange County.”

Huntington Beach Principal Jim Staunton, who served as chairman for the principals’ committee, said Wednesday he will support those trying to defeat the proposal that he and his committee spent countless hours working on.

“I genuinely do not know how the vote will go,” Staunton said. “I can say I’m hoping it does get defeated. We would like to recommend we stay status quo for a year. If they do have an area placement plan, I think we can solve the problems we face amicably or in a manner that serves everyone.

“The time we’ve spent on our proposal proves how difficult the problems are. This has been going on for eight years since private schools entered the Orange County area. Only now has it reached a critical stage. I know that supporting the status quo might upset some, but you are just talking one year. And the executive council deciding to go into area placement just changed everything.”

Not everyone is happy with the new developments.

Corona del Mar Principal Don Martin, whose school would have moved from the Sea View League into the Pacific Coast League, said he plans to speak against remaining status quo.

“I have some understanding why they are doing it, but I do disagree with stopping the process we all agreed to in order to change the focus to an area placement issue,” Martin said. “I agree we need to look at area placement, and virtually every principal would like [the section] to look at area placement. But to suddenly change the releaguing process and throw out what we worked a year-and-half on is inappropriate and could be considered a violation of our own policies regarding releaguing.”

Costa Mesa Principal Andrew Hernandez supports Martin.

“I’m not happy there seems to be a movement to essentially circumvent the two-thirds majority vote of the principals,” Hernandez said. “That, I think, is the issue now. I recognize and have sympathy for what they are trying accomplish, but I think we are manipulating the process and the rules, and that is not appropriate.”