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LINCOLN — A proposal to reform the “old boys' club” that governs high school sports in Nebraska is a “makeover,” not a “takeover,” according to State Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln.
“Times have changed, but the Nebraska School Activities Association has not,” Avery told the Legislature's Education Committee on Tuesday.
The senator spoke in favor of his proposal, Legislative Bill 1021, which would revamp the governing structure of the 100-year-old organization and require that it comply with state open-records and open-meetings laws.
The bill grew out of an interim study requested by Avery after the Legislature's debate a year ago about allowing participants in nonschool “club” sports to be members of NSAA-governed high school teams. No bill was passed.
Avery said the interim study found some disturbing things about the NSAA:
Ÿ It has never had a woman or a minority on its six-member governing board, the Board of Control.
Ÿ Parents have been denied requests for information and attendance at meetings.
Ÿ Its six districts — which provide one representative each to the Board of Control — are wildly lopsided. District 2, which includes Omaha, now has 87 schools with 39,000 students, while District 5, which covers rural southwest Nebraska, has only 24 schools and 2,400 students.
LB 1021 would require the NSAA to redraw its districts to better reflect the concept of “one man, one vote” in terms of students.
Avery and other proponents said good governance standards require that organizations that basically act as public agencies do not conduct meetings in secrecy.
“The NSAA is attempting to make internal changes as we speak ... but it's too little, too late,” he said.
Supporters of the NSAA testified that while changes are needed, the bill goes too far and is unnecessary.
“I see problems with the proposed top-down management,” said Dan Flanagan, president of the Papillion-La Vista school board. “This is a system that works for us.”
Flanagan said that while the NSAA isn't perfect, it cannot be condemned if the member schools fail to elect any women or minorities to the Board of Control.
Jim Tenopir, executive director of the NSAA, said the Board of Control will soon vote on a proposal to comply with state public meetings and records laws.
The organization is debating a proposal to provide one more board member from the Omaha and Lincoln districts.
But a Lincoln parent, Lisa McNeel, said even if that proposal was adopted, board representation still would be lopsided. The Omaha district, she said, would have one-fourth of the votes on the board and 51 percent of the students.
“That's hardly fair and balanced,” McNeel said.
The Education Committee took no action on LB 1021 after the hearing. The committee's chairman, Sen. Greg Adams of York, said that although Avery has raised valid concerns, he's not yet convinced that legislation is necessary.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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