Don't butt in

The Missouri State High School Activities Association oversees the rules and conduct of sports, music contests and other activities of the 1,000 public and private schools that voluntarily choose to belong to the organization. Occasionally, the MSHSAA is asked to look into allegations of rules violations. Its findings are not always popular.

A state representative from Chesterfield, Mo., Jane Cunningham, was one of several legislators barred from an MSHSAA board meeting last year at which alleged infractions in the Naylor School District were discussed. Cunningham has already introduced legislation that would bring the MSHSAA under legislative control, and another bill is in the works.

Time out.

The MSHSAA is not a state agency. It receives no state funding. It is regulated and supported by its members, any of which can choose to drop out or, by a membership vote, changes the organization's rules. The MSHSAA has provided comprehensive coordination of activities and events that are important to Missouri's schools.

Leave the MSHSAA alone. Let it do its job.