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MSHSL Board of Director’s
Report
Minnesota State High School League
Board of Directors Meeting
December 1, 2011
Meeting Synopsis
Action Items
• Unanimous approval was given to the addition of a third form of
debate – public forum
debate – for member school participation. Currently schools can
compete in policy debate –
teams of two arguing a single topic with cartons of evidence at
break-neck speed – and
Lincoln-Douglas debate – individual against individual. Public forum
debate also involves
teams of two facing off on topics that change monthly. The topics
tend to reflect important
current events. For example, the December 2011 topic in the form of
a resolution is
“Resolved: In the United States, current income disparities threaten
democratic ideals.” The
National Forensic League website defines it as “audience friendly
debate.” Another website
dedicated to public forum debate states, “The clash of ideas must be
communicated in a
manner persuasive to the non-specialist or ‘citizen judge.’”
Minnesota Debate Teachers
Association President D.J. Brynteson spoke in favor of the proposal,
explaining that it will
be much more accessible to classroom teachers and will likely
increase overall participation
in debate. Assistant Director Chris Franson added that it will offer
students life-long
learning skills in research and persuasive speaking.
y At the recommendation of staff, the Board approved three
additional state track and field
events for athletes in wheelchairs. During the 2011 season, athletes
in the wheelchair
division could compete in the 800-meter and 1600-meter track events
and in the shot put.
The three additional events offered during the 2012 season will be
the 100-meter dash, the
3200-meter race and the discus throw. The League Sports Medicine
Advisory Committee
will be consulted while staff works to confirm details of wheelchair
division competition.
Six events will be offered at the 2012 State Track and Field Meet.
y The seeding of Class AA teams, plus the singles competitors of
both classes was approved
for state tennis tournaments, effective with the 2012-13 school
year. The top four Class AA
teams will be determined by electronic voting of all of the
qualified team coaches, with their
opponents determined by random draw. Class A teams will not be
seeded. All 16 singles
competitors in each class are eligible to earn votes from the
coaches in a similar electronic
voting process. After the top four seeds are determined, with seeds
1 and 4 placed in one
half of the bracket and seeds 2 and 3 placed in the other half, the
remaining section
champions will then be randomly drawn and placed in the open bracket
positions from top
to bottom, followed by the runners-up in the same fashion.
Adjustments may be made to
ensure that champions and runners-up from the same section are
placed in opposite halves
of the bracket. The seeding impacts both girls’ and boys’ tennis.
y The 2012 football season will feature an additional class, the
largest 32 schools by
enrollment, and will be designated Class AAAAAA. An adjustment to
the format approved
earlier was recommended by staff. The Board approved playing four
semifinal games on the
Thursday prior to Thanksgiving, with five games to be played on each
of the following
Friday and Saturday. The exact configuration of the schedule of
which classes will play on
each day is still under review. The Prep Bowl will still feature
four games on the Friday following Thanksgiving and a third game
will be added to the Saturday schedule the next
day.
y The 2012 State Lacrosse Tournament dates were readjusted to June
5-8. The tentative 2013
dates are June 11-14 and June 10-13 for 2014.
y The Board approved Blaine High School as the site for the 2013 and
2014 State Speech
Tournaments. Assistant Director Chris Franson explained that the
school will be closed to
its students on the Fridays of the tournament week which will allow
competition to begin in
the morning and conclude in late afternoon.
y The Board accepted a hearing officer’s recommendation to place
Melrose Area High School
back into the West Central Conference, effective with the 2012-13
sports season. The
school had been a member for 20+ years and was recently
involuntarily excluded.
Following required procedure, Melrose Area applied to three
conferences and was denied
by each. A committee was created to review the school’s conference
placement dilemma
and recommended the West Central Conference, which requested the
administrative hearing
review.
Discussion Items
y Tournament format adjustments permeated a number of
recommendations from various
activity advisory committees. For basketball, the proposal is to
seed teams 1 through 8 in all
classes of boys’ basketball and the same for Classes AAA and AAAA of
girls’ basketball. A
second basketball proposal calls for the section seeding of all 64
teams in Class AAAA for
both genders in an effort to get the best eight teams to the state
tournament. The seeding
would be done by a committee and will add competitive balance to
geographic
representation during the establishment of the sections prior to
seeding. The Lacrosse
Advisory Committee is proposing expanding from four to eight
sections for both genders,
even though neither gender quite makes the 64-team minimum of Board
policy. The hockey
committee is asking for unlimited scrimmages during the first two
weeks of the season, as
opposed to current policy limiting teams to three calendar dates per
season. The Baseball
and Girls’ Softball Advisory Committees are requesting a return to
allowing doubleelimination section competition when the final eight
teams are decided. Current policy
limits double elimination to the final four teams. Feedback from
League administrative
regions will be sought prior to Board action at the next regular
meeting.
y Associate Director Kevin Merkle updated the Board on the use of
QRF for section seeding
for football, soccer and girls’ volleyball this past fall. The
Quality Results Formula was
used by 40 of 48 football sections and by far fewer sections in
soccer and girls’ volleyball.
Overall, Merkle said it worked well. There were a few instances that
revealed that some
tweaking of the formula may be required.
y There was brief discussion about expanding continuing education
requirements to all
coaches at all levels. Associate Director Jody Redman indicated that
the
Technology/Coaches and Officials Education Committee is making that
recommendation
and it will be included as an action item at the next regular Board
meeting.
y The Executive Committee presented a policy proposal related to
comprehensive review of
Board policies. The current policy requires that be done minimally
every five years. The
proposal changes to wording to state that such a review “will be
conducted as often as
necessary.” Board Committee Reports
Eligibility Committee
The Board adopted eight separate eligibility recommendations from
the committee, the
bulk of which recommended censure of coaches or school
administrators. The committee also
discussed policies related to open enrollment options, online
student eligibility, and transfer and
residence policies for seventh- and eighth-grade students.
Audit/Finance Committee
The Board approved the financial statements for the months of
September and October.
The committee recommended and the Board approved an $18,000 payment
to Administrative
Region 4A to assist in offsetting its section tournament expenses.
The committee recommended
and the Board granted Finance Director Rich Matter authority to work
with RBC Wealth
Management to handle cash reserve investments according to Board
policy. Chair Luanne
Wagner reported that the state auditor’s office gave the League its
highest opinion after review
of League finances.
Marketing Committee
Staff updated the committee on implementation of the 2011-12
communications plan,
particularly as it relates to the centennial celebration of state
basketball tournaments in March
2012. Staff reported that contracts with current ball and puck
manufacturers will be extended for
one more year.
Technology/Coaches and Officials Education Committee
In addition to its recommendation to expand coaching education
requirements, the
committee reviewed statistics about use of the League website, and
Technology Director Chris
Franson reported that he is working on programming that will tailor
League website information
for more user-friendly display and retrieval on mobile devices.
Extra Points
• League Lobbyist Roger Aaronson reported that Executive Director
Dave Stead and Board
President Mindy Sparby testified before the legislative committee
reviewing a new
stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. He noted that President Sparby
stated that thousands
of Minnesota students have enjoyed competition inside the Metrodome
over the years and
urged that if a new stadium is supported that it be required to have
a roof to continue to
accommodate League competition.
• Executive Director Stead reported that the League Foundation met
recently and authorized
$350,000 worth of grants to 223 member schools. He added that a
similar amount will be
available for another round of grants when the Foundation Board
meets again in March
2012.
• Executive Director Stead also announced that he had received word
from Perham AD
Fred Sailer that Zach Gabbard, the basketball player who collapsed
but was revived with
CPR and an AED after sudden cardiac arrest, has been cleared by his
cardiologist to return
to physical education class and basketball practice, but no
competition just yet.
• The League office will be closed at noon on Thursday, Dec. 22, and
staff will return to
work after the holidays the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 3.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the League Board of
Directors is Thursday, Feb. 2,
2012, at the League office. |
