Controversial cooperative sports program bill has been amended, but NJSIAA still has no oversight

Saying she believes the NJSIAA might “look for ways to deny rather than remove barriers or hurdles for children to participate,” the state lawmaker who authored legislation allowing high schools within the same district to merge sports teams will not amend her bill to give the statewide athletic association oversight and review of such cooperative programs.

On Friday, Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, amended her bill, which state lawmakers are expected to vote upon Monday, but none of those revisions will give the NJSIAA purview over public schools within the same district that want to enter into a cooperative program for any sport should they experience difficulty fielding athletic teams because of declining participation numbers, financial constraints or safety concerns.

The most significant amendment to Turner's legislation is that the bill, if signed into law, would take effect at the start of the 2018-19 academic year rather than immediately.

Turner’s bill and companion legislation, which Assemblyman Daniel Benson, D-Mercer, introduced, are expected to pass “with big numbers,” according to Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, who said he believes Gov. Chris Christie will sign the bills into law later this month.

Regarding the NJSIAA’s concern that her bill will allow school districts to create “all-star teams,” which became an unintended consequence of New Jersey's Interdistrict Public School Choice Program Act, Turner said she is “sensitive to those who are opposed” and can always “introduce a new bill” with corrective action as a remedy should any abuses, which she said she does not at all expect, arise.

Turner said she believes NJSIAA officials need to start thinking “outside the box” to keep up with the times as the state’s changing demographics reflect declining participation numbers that threaten the future of certain scholastic sports teams at some high schools.

Turner and Benson introduced the legislation after West Windsor-Plainsboro Public Schools unsuccessfully attempted to merge its two high school football teams when one was unable to field a squad for the 2017 season due to safety concerns over a limited roster.

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District Superintendent David Aderhold, in an open letter rebutting the NJSIAA’s claim that Turner’s legislation will lead to the creation of super teams, called the NJSIAA’S reasoning for opposing her bill “ludicrous.”

The NJSIAA’s concern that districts will use the legislation for athletic advantage stems, in part, from its experience with several member schools benefitting from the school choice law without violating statewide athletic association rules or state statute.

Among the most notable examples of sports programs gaining a competitive advantage through school choice are the Bound Brook wrestling program, whose 2013 squad, which was ranked that year among the Top 20 in the nation, featured eight starters who lived out of district, and Hoboken’s 2012 sectional championship football team, which won a title that season with 43 percent of its players (23 of 60) being school choice transfers, five of whom accounted in 2012 for 53 touchdowns and more than 4,300 yards from scrimmage.

Hoboken head coach Lou Taglieri told the Hudson Reporter after his team defeated Roselle Park for the 2012 sectional crown that “without school choice, this team doesn't win,” a comment that did not sit well with school officials from Dunellen, which lost to Hoboken that year in the semifinals.

The state Department of Education, reacting to concerns of players transferring for athletic advantage under the school choice law, now allows the NJSIAA to impose its 30-day transfer rule upon any of the 109 school districts statewide whose high schools are part of New Jersey’s Interdistrict Public School Choice Program Act.

The 30-day transfer rule, which took effect for school choice programs beginning during the 2013-14 academic year, appears to have served as somewhat of an effective deterrent from schools creating super teams. 

NJSIAA officials believe Turner’s bill creates a pathway to similar on-field success. Turner said she was unaware that some schools benefited athletically from the school choice law, but reiterated her belief that her cooperative program bill should not generate similar results.

Aderhold acknowledged in his letter that receiving districts have obtained an athletic advantage through the school choice law, but wrote that he doesn’t believe districts would take advantage of Turner’s legislation to gain a competitive advantage, stating “it’s a ludicrous idea that would be the demise of a Board of Education and a Superintendent.”

Mark Toback, who was Hoboken’s schools’ chief at the time, noted in an interview with MyCentralJersey.com that his district did not violate state law or any NJSIAA regulations regarding the school choice act, and offered no apologies for Hoboken winning a 2012 football championship with school choice players, stating he didn’t “feel badly” about the title “because we are following all the rules about this.”

That type of thinking is of concern to NJSIAA officials, who believe Turner’s law creates an avenue for districts to create super teams without feeling badly because they are not violating her statute.

“Does anyone really believe that Hamilton School District would close a baseball team so that Steinert and Hamilton West can merge?” Aderhold wrote. “Or that Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West would merge their basketball programs? Or that Freehold Regional High School District would merge their six programs into one so that they can dominate their league or conference? … The only reason to merge a team would be for enrollment and safety. Why wouldn’t the NJSIAA allow a school district to provide equal opportunities to all students within their district by allowing students to participate at their other district school?”

Last month, NJSIAA member schools approved a proposal the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district introduced that allows larger schools to enter into cooperative agreements for football under specified conditions. The vote of 179 to 115 in favor of the proposal led NJSIAA officials to believe the issue had been resolved.

“The update provides a remedy for member schools that find themselves with declining participation in football,” outgoing NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko told MyCentralJersey.com.

The Benson and Turner bills, however, extend the newly approved NJSIAA measure beyond football, where schools previously were prohibited from entering into a cooperative agreement if one of the desiring cooperative teams was classified as a Group III school or larger.

Under current NJSIAA rules, schools are prohibited from entering into cooperative sports programs for basketball, baseball, softball and outdoor track. The Benson and Turner bills would require the NJSIAA to allow schools to enter into cooperative agreements regardless of the sport or the member schools’ group classification.

More than 20 school districts in New Jersey have more than a single high school, with Newark having 12.

The NJSIAA allows cooperative sports programs in bowling, cross country, field hockey, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, winter track and wrestling.

NJSIAA Executive Director Larry White said that for 30 years the NJSIAA has provided a remedy for schools facing challenges related to fielding teams because of declining interest. It has permitted member schools, in cases where one or two schools have an insufficient number of players, to form cooperative sports programs. Last year, more than 116 schools joined to form cooperative teams. White said programs simply need to demonstrate a decline in interest or participation in the sport and secure approval from their leagues or conferences and the NJSIAA Executive Committee.

White, citing the recent vote of the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district’s proposal, said the cooperative sports program, since its inception in 1985, has evolved to meet the needs of member schools.

“For 100 years, NJSIAA members – coaches, athletic directors, principals, superintendents, and officials – have written, implemented and enforced the rules governing NJSIAA high school sports, and have proven they are best suited to understand the complexities of interscholastic sports and the needs of our students,” said White. “The NJSIAA and its member schools have worked together to provide solutions to these complexities.”

State lawmakers advanced the Benson and Turner bills unanimously, with the Assembly committee voting 11-0 with no abstentions and the Senate committee voting 30-0 with 10 abstentions.