I think what @74devil is saying is that it isn't really a "private school" problem in the eyes of many, but rather a "Trinity" problem. If Trinity hadn't completely dominated AAAA and now 6A most wouldn't care about whether public and private schools played against one another.

 

Or to put it another way - nobody is wringing their hands over Country Day, Brossart or Bethlehem.

 

yes, that is what I am saying.

What if private and independent schools were put into one division and split into 2 classes. Then put all the public schools into 4 classes. Same number of classes. Make the biggest private/independent class 8 teams to get more schools away from Trinity and X, since that's what most of this is about anyway.

 

Or just put Trinity and X in a 2 team class....same result as it is now.

 

Why put public independent schools in with private schools?

Also, one last point to Bluegrasscard's very good post above...

While all the Lex Schools are on turf & have nice fields, as do many schools now. Everyone I know that has a turf field has to share it to some extent, I would be willing to place a hefty wager on the fact that Band, Soccer or some other activity is NOT on the field during a Football Practice at T or X. (Or anywhere that supports their program even a little for that matter.)

 

This is where the all-boy factor may help as well. There is less contention on the resources in a single gender school. For X and T there is no girls soccer, girls lacrosse or girls softball (at LexCath girls softball field is on football field at opposite end from baseball field).

Can someone enlighten me? I don’t think that there is any difference in public and independent schools. Maybe I’m missing something

Can someone enlighten me? I don’t think that there is any difference in public and independent schools. Maybe I’m missing something

 

From a sports perspective, the only difference is the rate they win state championships.

Why put public independent schools in with private schools?

 

The sentiment seems to be that there are not enough private schools to create a separate class. If independents were put in with the privates there would be enough schools to create another class or maybe two. The independent schools are just as dominant as the private schools. The reasons for that could be debated, but if you only separate the private schools, independent schools will still dominate the same way they do now.

If there is going to be any separation at all, you might as well take out the independents too.

Some power players on the independent list as well:

 

Ashland Independent School District, Ashland

Beechwood Independent School District (Fort Mitchell)

Bowling Green Independent Schools

Corbin Independent School District

Danville Independent Schools

Fort Thomas Independent Schools

Glasgow Independent Schools

Hazard Independent Schools

Mayfield Independent Schools

Pikeville Independent Schools

Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools

Somerset Independent Schools

 

Bardstown, Elizabethtown, Frankfort and Highlands are all independent, too. All four are usually ranked in football most years.

I cannot tell you how irritating it is to me that people seem to believe independent school districts have some sort of advantage over county school districts. Can someone tell me what the advantage is?

I cannot tell you how irritating it is to me that people seem to believe independent school districts have some sort of advantage over county school districts. Can someone tell me what the advantage is?

 

The biggest is that many independents take out of district kids and will charge tuition.

 

There are several kids who attend Elizabethtown who do NOT live in the district and have their parents pay out of district "tuition" to do so.

 

I also know that several independent districts are more lenient when it comes to hiring coaches. At Elizabethtown, they have several coaches who are NOT based at the high school. At nearby public schools, a coach who is in the district or at the school is more likely to get hired than someone (although more qualified) who isn't.

 

Personally, I do NOT have a problem with anything I stated above. I am NOT ripping E'town (or other independents) because they are doing everything on board.

 

Just pointing out thoughts I've heard.

The biggest is that many independents take out of district kids and will charge tuition..

That is not an advantage for independents that isn't available also to public schools.

 

Many public schools accept out-of-district students as well, and ALL of them could if they would choose to do so.

I cannot tell you how irritating it is to me that people seem to believe independent school districts have some sort of advantage over county school districts. Can someone tell me what the advantage is?

 

The only advantage I can think of is a fewer school administrators/board members in the district and thereby less bureaucracy to deal with.

That is not an advantage for independents that isn't available also to public schools.

 

Many public schools accept out-of-district students as well, and ALL of them could if they would choose to do so.

 

Except not all public systems do (that's their own fault).

Except not all public systems do (that's their own fault).

 

Exactly. So no advantage to independents. And independents are public school systems too.

I will point out that some of the perceived advantages are result of prioritization or focus and not an 'inherent' or systemic advantage.

This the crux of the situation, no matter if a school is private, independent or county.

How does it work when a school has open enrollment but the neighboring district doesn't release the kid's state funding?