2 A.D.s Presenting OSSAA With Plan To Allow For Individual-Sport Independence

NewsOK.com, Scott Wright

http://blog.newsok.com/highschoolsports/2012/11/06/sinor-balenseifen-to-present-plan-to-ossaa-addressing-rule-on-independence-from-association/

Oklahoma City Public Schools athletic director Keith Sinor and Putnam City Schools athletic director Dick Balenseifen will appear before the OSSAA Board of Directors on Wednesday to present a proposal that would allow high schools to become independent of the OSSAA in an individual sport.

Currently, OSSAA rules require a school to withdraw from the association in all sports, but Sinor and Balenseifen will propose to amend that rule.

Sinor and Balenseifen had worked with Tulsa athletic director Gil Cloud on a larger proposal to reclassify teams in a manner to better level the playing field, taking into account winning percentage over a number of years and percentage of students on free and reduced lunch at public schools.

The focus of the presentation has narrowed to the independence issue, for example, allowing a football team to become independent without forcing the rest of the school’s athletic teams to leave the OSSAA.

“We feel that would be best for everybody,” Sinor said. “We’re proposing a change in the wording of the rule that essentially says if a school wants to become independent in one sport, it has to become independent in all sports for two years.

“This is a safety thing for our kids, and it’s about giving them a chance to be successful. It’s about doing what’s right for the kids.”

The proposal calls for the rule change to be applied statewide, not just to select teams.

It is possible that the Board could call for a vote on the proposal, or they could take it under advisement to be considered at a later date.