State schools vote to keep multiplier

The majority of schools competing in the Missouri High School Activities Association are public schools. That majority spoke loud and clear in voting on the MSHSAA annual ballot, the results of which were released Thursday.

Member schools voted 309-128 against deleting the 1.35 multiplier that applies to private and parochial schools' enrollments for MSHSAA classification purposes. The multiplier was approved in 2002 by a 266-186 vote. A petition drive led by Jefferson City Helias resulted in the 10 percent necessary to put the issue on the ballot again. But that the vote didn't have the majority needed was hardly a shock.

"It doesn't surprise me at all," said Notre Dame athletic director Darrin Scott. "Most schools vote for how it will affect them, and this moved a lot of private schools out of the Class 1, Class 2 ranks."

Notre Dame, for one, has its enrollment ballooned from 450 to 607 in the multiplier and plays up in Class 4 (out of five) in baskeball and Class 3 (out of four) in baseball.

Scott does not expect the issue to go away, although he said nonpublic schools probably can't expect the multiplier to go away either.

"I think the only thing that might happen is the committee studying it might adjust the multiplier," Scott said. "But there will always be some kind of multiplier."

The membership also rejected a proposal to allow non-MSHSAA member schools to join as affiliated members and compete against MSHSAA schools during regular-season events.

It also rejected a proposal to allow athletes to compete in club sports or individual events in a certain sport while the high school season for that sport is taking place. The Missouri House of Representatives is considering legislation that would prohibit the MSHSAA from preventing athletes from competing in an Olympic sport in events sanctioned by the national governing body for the sport.

The MSHSAA membership voted to add a fourth classification for wrestling, even though the number of schools in that sport has not yet reached the association's figure for adding a fourth classification.

Schools also will be allowed to let a team make one trip per year exceeding 250 miles from the state's border, a move that will allow some of the state's top teams to play in showcase events outside the Midwest.

The member schools that compete in aquatics also pulled a narrow switcheroo (46-43) to send boys swimming from winter to fall, girls swimming from spring to winter and water polo from fall to spring. That move begins in 2006-07.

"I'm for it for a couple reasons," Central swimming coach Dayna Powell said.

She said the switch will benefit the girls programs with fewer conflicting sports in the winter, although it may force boys to face tough choices with fall sports. It also will allow girls to make an easier transition from the state meet to summer long-course swimming competitions and to compete in spring USA swimming programs.