Trinity alum

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the show last night,but I'll offer a few comments about where The situation stands. 1. Is a part of the motivation behind this anti Catholic feeling? I believe it is, but at the very least I believe that there is a VERY STRONG anti private school feeling that is the major motivation. I believe that the ultimate goal of these superintendents is to destroy private schools. They will chip away at the private schools as much as they can. If they can attack athletics first they will use that to undermine support for the private schools. 2. Is a compromise possible? Yes it is, but only if the public schools believe that their only alternative is a complete loss. Their goal is to kick out the private schools and they don't wan't anything less. The private schools want a compromise. They are willing to compromise. It is the public schools that don't want it. 3. The goal of the public school superintendents is to protect public education by trying to put any alternative education out of business.

If the administrative burden of portable funding is too much, just charge tuition. Then you WOULD be on an equal footing with the private schools. The objective of opening up enrollment would not be athletics. The goal would be competition to improve schools.

I see a voucher system as very analogous to the aid to higher education. Much of that aid goes to private universities. There are certain restrictions that come with the aid, but they don't have to turn into public universities.

I would guess that given the current climate, no school would be foolish enough to send literature to only athletes. It would be a violation. Second, sending a van to Radcliff to pick up only athletes would be a violation. If the van is offered to all students in the area, it is not a problem. As a qualifier, all interpretations of KHSAA rules are the opinion of the author.

A couple of points. First, vouchers using state or local money in Kentucky would require an amendment of the state constitution. Federal money would not face the same restriction. Second, I don't accept the premise that under a voucher program private schools must be operated in exactly the same way as public schools. If that is the case there is no reason to do it in the first place. If there are laws or regulations that are preventing success in some public schools, the solution is to change those laws or regulations, not expand those offending laws or regulations to private schools. I think that the problem is more one of money. If it is necessary to offer a public education to all students, that does not mean that it is necessary to offer that education in a setting that allows disruption of the school as a whole. There are alternative schools in some parts of the state. Puting them in every part of the state would cost a lot of money, but faced with disruption of the education of all students it seems to me to be worth the cost.

Forfeit fees are a legitimate use of school funds. The problem would be when Trinity and x sued them for fraud in signing the contracts. By signing the contracts with no intention of playing they would be acting to the extreme financial detriment of Trinity and x and if the various schools acted together in this it would be a conspiracy. Is a conspiracy to commit fraud a criminal violation? I would be very disappointed if they are even thinking about it, but I would be even more surprised if their lawyers let them do it. If they want to forfeit the games they can do so by refusing to sign the contracts for the games. The KHSAA would hang a district loss on them and Trinity and x could schedule an alternative game.

It wouldn't make much difference to them in terms of wins and losses.

Or maybe a couple more luxury boxes!!

I am not an attorney, but I am thinking that if the JCPS colluded to come up with a plan like that there would be grounds for a lawsuit. If they decide to do this I hope they include money to cover a typical Trinity gate (at least $25,000) plus some FAT punitive damages. Gosh, after a season like that we could add an additional classroom building.

Earl Cox reported today that there is talk of public schools forfeiting to St X and Trinity if the separate playoffs are not enacted. http://www.voice-tribune.com/news/voicetribune/newspaper/20051027/p1c.asp This is what he said: "What will happen is this," one public-school booster told me. "On Monday, public schools that are scheduled to play St. X and Trinity will call the Catholic schools and say that they are forfeiting this week's game. The $1,500 forfeit check is in the mail. And this will go on all season. Where will that leave St. X and Trinity?" I would hope that nothing like this will happen. I would hope that it isn't even being considered.

I have looked at this a number of times over the past few years. The percentage of members of the football team that are from non Catholic backgrounds (based on the parish affiliation listed in program) is always lower than the percentage for the school as a whole.

A, B, and D are legal under KHSAA rules. Option C is a violation. My guess is that if any of the students selected under Option B could play ball, there would be an outcry.

Sorry tigershark, I will have to disagree with you. Most of the measures you cite are self selection measures. Take the example of National Merit finalists. If a kid is in the 99th percentile when they enter high school, there is a pretty good chance that a little over half way through high school when they take the National Merit exam they will still be in the 99th percentile, regardless of where they go to high school. The percentage of National Merit finalists for Kentucky is the same as for other states since the selection score is, I believe, determined on a state by state basis to include a common percentage of the high school population. If you self select a group of academic high achievers into a group it is not surprising when the group contains academic high achievers. I am a strong backer of Catholic education but running down the public schools is not on my list of reasons to support my school

You need to be better informed. The KHSAA regulations do not address where a student enrolls. In fact, under KHSAA regulations, a student can transfer anywhere they want until they play in a varsity contest. The restrictions in Lexington are the policy of the county BOE.

Add this one to your list. How many public school kids went to a Catholic school through the eighth grade and then transferred to a public school? Why isn't that a problem for anyone? What you will find is that the number of kids that leave Catholic schools for public schools after the eighth grade is much higher than the number of kids that leave the publics for a Catholic school. At our parish a higher number of kids attend Ballard than any other high school. The Trinity program lists the parish or church affiliation for all members of the team. The percentage of non Catholics for the football team is LOWER than for the school as a whole.

Portland Christian School for one. As I understand it, about 40 percent of their students are from Indiana.

I can't believe that anyone would even mention $350.00 per kid per YEAR. I'd be embarrassed. Try paying nearly $8,000.00 in tuition plus more than $350.00 in books. Are you telling us that if you had to pay more than $350. you would be more interested in your kid's education? That's a heck of an admission.

Let me 'splain it to you. Building owners get the money to pay the taxes as part of the rent. The renters pay the taxes.

Let's hear it for that Manual education.

I don't believe that the THSAA is part of state government. It is a voluntary group. That is a profound difference. The courts have already ruled that the KHSAA is a state agency. I'm not an expert, but I think Kentucky is a little unusual in that regard.

The reason the Board of Control is a separate vote is to save the Know Nothings from themselves. In this case the Board of Control did just what it should. Let's hope the Board of Education shows as much sense. If the public superintendents are not going to get their way, will they now be willing to negotiate in good faith? I know that the privates have been trying to negotiate for a while. I don't think that the public superintendents want to negotiate as long as they believe there is a chance to throw the privates out.

I don't know anything about the situation you cite, but it sounds to me like the system worked.

Today.

Sorry, I was at Rupp with Trinity. Trinity brings a BIG crowd, just not often enough.

YES! If the student athlete has not played in a varsity contest he can play. The rule is the same for public or private.