THE LATEST LINE: DEBATE RAGES ON IN PUBLIC, PRIVATE SCHOOLS CONTROVERSY

You think Charleston's Blues Jays wanted to duck anybody on their way to one of the nine Class 3A state boys basketball championships they've won over the years?

You think Scott County Central's Braves didn't want to play the best the state had to offer when they were winning a record seven consecutive 1A championships through the 1980s and '90s on their way to a record 12 titles in all?

Of course not. High-quality teams -- and high-quality competitors -- want to face the best in the state no matter what kinds of schools the opposition comes from.

Which brings us to a major debate that is raging these days -- whether or not to hold separate state tournaments for public and nonpublic schools in seven of the sports that the Missouri State High School Activities Association sponsors.

The issue first came up when a group of public schools in northwest Missouri began pushing for the separation, citing unfair advantages supposedly held by private schools.

Soon some other parts of the state -- including this area -- began to take interest in the idea and enough signatures were gathered to place the proposal on the MSHSAA spring ballot.

The proposed separation of championships (in football, basketball, volleyball, softball, wrestling, baseball and track and field) is currently being voted on.

Only a simple majority is needed, meaning that if over half of the administrators of Missouri's high schools vote for the separation, then for at least two years (beginning with the 1998-99 school year), public and private schools won't compete against each other for state titles in those seven sports.

Which would be a real shame. Missouri's high school athletes deserve to compete for the same state championship regardless of whether they choose to attend their neighborhood school or decide to receive a private education.

In my book, the whole issue only came up in the first place because some schools are looking for a shortcut to success and they're jealous of the successes that certain private schools have enjoyed over the years.

Most people who favor the proposed split cite the supposed unfair advantages of the private schools, namely in the area of recruiting for athletic purposes. But anybody who thinks that certain public schools don't break recruiting rules has got their head buried in the sand.

I'm sure there are some private schools that aren't playing by the rules, but there are also plenty of public schools doing the same thing. The answer is not to kick the private schools out but to start enforcing the rules a little bit better, which is something that is going to be addressed by the MSHSAA.

All separating the state tournaments would do is deny Missouri's young student-athletes -- whose best interests should be the focal point of all this, not some coach or administrator who wants to add another plaque to his school's trophy case -- the chance to measure themselves against the best the state has to offer.

And that would be a crying shame.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian