WPIAL superintendents urge PIAA to split public, private school playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 | 3:34 PM

Splitting public and private schools into separate postseason tournaments is an idea worth exploring, New Castle superintendent John Sarandrea told the WPIAL board of directors Wednesday.

Sarandrea, who's a WPIAL board member, detailed an effort by some Butler, Lawrence and Mercer County school superintendents to force the PIAA to fix the competitive advantage non-boundary schools such as privates and charters have over public schools. They're expecting other intermediate units to join the effort.

It's a hotly debated topic, but one Sarandrea believes could find traction.

“First of all, it's time,” he said. “And second of all, the data speaks to that. We have all kinds of data of how 18 percent of the membership is winning 55 percent of the championships.”

Laurel superintendent Leonard Rich presented those numbers to PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi in a letter this month. Laurel and New Castle are members of Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV. Rich noted that in the past three seasons, 38 of 64 state basketball finalists and 23 of 32 champions were non-boundary schools.

After discussion, the WPIAL board voted Wednesday to send questionnaires next week to each member school to seek feedback on the issue.

“Now that you have school leaders and school boards getting involved, it could reach the point — we're not there yet — but it could reach the point where certain schools will flat-out refuse to play other schools,” Sarandrea said. “Or maybe not even enter into the PIAA championships, if that's what it takes to get attention.”

Rich took a similar stance in his letter to Lombardi.

“In the absence of action by the state legislature and/or the PIAA, I believe that public schools should consider forfeiture of all regular season contests against non-boundary schools,” Rich said.

But Lombardi on Wednesday called Rich's proposal to separate public and private schools a “non-starter” because it violates state law.

“The legislation was originally drafted to say private schools were to be part of our postseason competitions. That was amended (in 1972), and the amended language said they are to be full members of PIAA,” Lombardi said. “The intent behind that was they are to be treated like every other school and part of everything equally. For us to try to separate them out, in my opinion, would violate the law.

“And we're not violating the law.”

Lombardi said he believed the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee shares that same view.

Critics of private and charter schools were outraged after the state basketball championships last month. In part because Mercer County power Kennedy Catholic defeated Our Lady of Lourdes Regional, 78-36, in the Class A boys final. And in Class 4A boys, Philadelphia's Imhotep Charter defeated Sharon, 71-35.

“Do you think it's fair for Kennedy to play in a state championship game and be winning 33-0?” Sarandrea said. “Is that good for Kennedy? Was it good for Imhotep Charter to win the state final by 35 points? Is that a good thing for them? It's not good for anybody.”

Sarandrea, who coached at both public and Catholic schools, isn't urging the PIAA to create two separate leagues for the regular season. But rather come up with a creative solution for the postseason.

“New Jersey has a system where they have three separate classifications of state champions,” Sarandrea said, “and at the end of the year they have a tournament of champions where all those teams play. The other teams keep their state championship hat but then there's one tournament of champion winner.”

Sarandrea, boys basketball coach Ralph Blundo and New Castle attorney Larry Kelly met with the WPIAL executive committee last week. They tentatively scheduled a May meeting with state senator Jay Costa.

“We have to try some different things,” Sarandrea said, “until finally we find what's the fairest and the most palatable.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: New Castle