Senate committee votes in favor of HB 91 in effort to dissolve NCHSAA

[Longdayrunner]

Senate committee votes in favor of HB 91 in effort to dissolve NCHSAA

Posted July 21, 2021 12:16 p.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/senate-committee-votes-in-favor-of-hb-91-in-effort-to-dissolve-nchsaa/19782359/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Lawmakers are one step closer to dissolving the N.C. High School Athletic Association and creating a new commission to administer high school athletics in North Carolina.

The Senate Committee on Education voted on Wednesday morning in favor of HB 91. The bill, which was originally focused on students with autism but was gutted with an amendment by from Republican senators to overhaul high school sports in North Carolina, would dissolve the NCHSAA by the fall of 2022.

If the bill becomes law, a new commission would be established to run high school sports in North Carolina. The 17-person commission would consist of nine members appointed by the governor, four members appointed by the Senate, and four members appointed by the House. The members of the commission would be superintendents, principals, athletic directors, or coaches who are full-time school employees.

The commission would be housed in the Department of Administration, part of the state government. Right now, the NCHSAA is a private non-profit organization.

The bill would restrict the commission from doing a number of things. If the bill becomes law, the following would be prohibited:

Soliciting grant funding and sponsorships for purposes other than state tournaments
Providing grants to schools
Providing scholarships to players
Retaining gate receipts other than from the state tournament
Controlling the intellectual property of schools, such as logos and mascots, and audio and visual rights to games
Delegating its statutory duties to a director
According to the bill, the commission would be solely supported by fees and a percentage of gate receipts from state tournament games. Participating schools would be responsible for annual fees, including fees for student catastrophic insurance coverage. If commission funds reach 250% of the commission's total expenses for the previous year, it would be reduced by 20%.

The legislation comes after a months-long investigation by the state legislature into the NCHSAA, its authority over public schools and its finances.

Lawmakers have raised concerns about the amount of wealth the NCHSAA has accumulated, with a total net worth of over $40 million. However, the NCHSAA says that it has been fiscally responsible, provides a number of services for its schools and has given back millions of dollars to its members.

This is a developing story.

[Longdayrunner]

Updated article and video (go to link to review video):

NCHSAA commissioner says HB 91 inserts politics into sports, raises questions about race & gender

Updated July 21, 2021 10:03 p.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/nchsaa-commissioner-says-hb-91-inserts-politics-into-sports-raises-questions-about-race-gender/19782806/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dismantling the N.C. High School Athletic Association and placing the responsibility of running high school athletics with a commission appointed by elected officials would subject high school athletics to partisan politics, NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said on Wednesday.

The Senate Committee on Education advanced House Bill 91 on Wednesday afternoon. The bill, which was originally focused on students with autism, would eliminate the need for the NCHSAA, stripping away its authority to govern high school sports and placing it with a new commission housed within the state government.

If the bill is passed, the new commission would consist of 17 members — made up of superintendents, principals, athletic directors, and coaches who are full-time school employees. Nine of the members would be appointed by the governor, four would be appointed by the Senate, and four by the House of Representatives.

"Those individual are there because they have been voted by their constituents where they live, and typically those individuals have a political party affiliation — they're either Democrat, they're either Republican, they could be independent — so that in an of itself speaks to what an individual's beliefs are as it relates to our political system," Tucker said. "Once you start to appoint committees, then those committees will take on the flavor of the individuals who appoint them ... I don't know how you divorce then the politics from a commission that would be appointed by individuals who are in their positions because of their political affiliations."

Tucker said the proposed commission would have a similar makeup to the current NCHSAA Board of Directors, but the difference would be that politicians would choose the representatives, not the schools. Mixing high school sports with politics is something people involved in high school sports have long tried to avoid, Tucker said.

Over the last 12-18 months, as the legislature has dug into the NCHSAA, Tucker said the NCHSAA has gone through old meeting minutes.

"We received a document from the UNC archives, the library archives, and in those minutes there are references to ... we do not believe that high school athletics ought to be governed by politicians or by the General Assembly," Tucker said. "So even back in the 40s and 50s, there were references to (the) need to keep sports and athletics free from politics. But unfortunately, here we are talking about the political spectrum and how that could impact high school athletics in our state."

Tucker says the bill does not provide any guidelines for considering regions or classifications when selecting the 17-member commission, adding that she believes that could create a representation problem for schools.

"What you're also doing is taking out of the hands of the member schools their ability to say, 'These are the individuals we want to nominate,'" she said.

Numerous organizations and individuals expressed their support for Tucker and the NCHSAA on Wednesday. The National Federation of State High School Associations, the national governing body for high school sports, released a statement supporting the NCHSAA as the organization that should continue leading high school sports in North Carolina. The N.C. Athletic Directors Association released a statement in support of the NCHSAA, and earlier this week the N.C. Coaches Association unanimously passed a resolution supporting the NCHSAA as the governing body of high school sports in the state.

After HB 91 was unveiled, individual athletic directors, coaches, and administrators have expressed their support for the NCHSAA on social media as well.

Tucker said she can sense a groundswell of support from member schools.

"I believe the membership never thought it would rise to this level, I think the membership perhaps thought, 'Well, at least now they'll listen and they'll make some changes,' or 'They'll do some things differently,'" Tucker said of member schools, adding that the schools feel that they are the NCHSAA. "You're saying to the 427 member schools that the organization you belong to and that you make up is not doing what it should be doing. In fact, I think somebody even said that we are a broken organization ... I think that ought to be offensive to every member of our organization."

Tucker believes she could be legislative target because of race, gender
Prior to Tucker becoming commissioner of the NCHSAA, there had never been a Black or female commissioner of the association — she was the first. Now, she believes that could be playing a role in some of the happenings at the legislature.

Tucker pointed out that the endowment fund, which has received immense amount of scrutiny, was started in the early 1990s when Charlie Adams was the executive director. It continued and grew under Commissioner Davis Whitfield in the 2010s too. Both Adams and Whitfield were White men.

"There is a part of me, that personal side of me, who believes that this is more about me in that seat than when Charlie Adams sat in that seat or when Davis Whitfield sat in that seat, and if that is the case, then I am truly disappointed in the people who represent us in the General Assembly, that they would allow their feelings and their beliefs to rise to the point that they want to dismantle an organization that has 100 — almost 110-year history of providing athletic opportunities for students in our state," she said.

Tucker said she believes her race and gender both have played a role in how she has been treated and the direction the investigation has gone.

"I think that there are people who, when they see an African-American female, or an African-American male for that matter, sitting at the top of an organization, that frustrates some people," said Tucker. "I'm not saying ... that's what's driven the individuals who spoke yesterday, but I can tell you that as an African-American, and as an African-American female, I certainly feel like the way in which I have been addressed, and the questions I've been asked, and the information I've been asked to share would not have happened had I not been an African-American."

Tucker said Adams started the endowment in the 1990s before retiring in 2010, then Whitfield followed from 2010 through 2015. She said the endowment had grown substantially by that point.

"He was never called to the carpet, and he was never questioned by individuals in the General Assembly the way I have been," she said. "I'm not going to mince any words. I do believe that plays into this. How much? I don't know."

[Coach Atwood]

Making this a race and sex issue won't help the NCHSAA cause one bit.  For Que to inject that after being involved with the NCHSAA at the top for many years is really unfortunate, especially when several of the rules and regulations the NCHSAA has in operation have an adverse effect on student of color much more than white students.  I've seen it, lived it, and experienced it first hand and know this to be the complete truth.

During this past school year, I made it abundantly clear to anyone who I could that remote learning was having as adverse impact on many students, particularly freshmen in high school.  I emailed this concern to Que and suggested removing all academic requirements for high school freshmen so they could participate and get a coach in their life to reel them in.  Her response was that there was nothing they could do this school year.  In the age of zoom meetings, remote meetings, mass email communication, conference calls, etc. I found that hard to believe.  It's this kind of stubbornness that has created the atmosphere to generate the NC legislature's interest.  Forget about the money component here.  Just this issue alone demonstrates how difficult it is dealing with the NCHSAA for many schools and coaches. 

Que may believe there is a groundswell of support for the NCHSAA, and perhaps there is in some places, but there has been groundswell opposition to them for many years.  I believe that all came to a culmination with what many believed was the botched handling of the entire 2020-21 sports calendar. 

That being said, I am indifferent on the issue of whether the NCHSAA should be removed.  If they survive this then so be it, but they need to make some serious changes in several places that are beneficial to student/athletes, and they need be more creative in punishing schools rather than by imposing fines. 

Perhaps the legislature changes course and makes a series of laws that overrides the agency discretion of the NCHSAA?  As an alternative so to speak.  There is a way to mend rather than end the NCHSAA, but perhaps the legislature believes we are too far down that road.  If so, and these changes take place, I've already put my name in as being interested in being one of those 17 members of that commission.  I want to be the perspective of being the grunt where the rubber hits the road kind of member rather than be an administrator who used to coach who has forgot where they started from. 

As such, if the NCHSAA is still standing after this is all over, I am more than willing to discuss with them the draconian rules they have and what changes they can implement to be more student/athlete oriented and friendly. 

[Longdayrunner]

How the money is spent at the NCHSAA:

Breaking down the NCHSAA's $40 million in assets

Updated July 25, 2021 5:41 p.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/breaking-down-the-nchsaa-s-40-million-in-assets/19788460/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In legislative hearings over the last several months, lawmakers have spent a lot of time digging into the net worth of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

There have been many references to the NCHSAA's net worth of $40 million. It is true, the NCHSAA has a total net worth of $40,371,590, as of the end of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, according to financial documentation the NCHSAA shared with member schools on Friday.

HighSchoolOT obtained a copy of the financial disclosures and compared them to publicly available documents published by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the committee that opened an investigation into the NCHSAA earlier this year.

The NCHSAA shared several pages of information with its members on Friday, including a look at its five-year average of revenue and expenses.

According to the data from the association, 46% of the NCHSAA's revenue comes from program services, such as ticket sales at playoffs and state championships, officials registrations, membership dues, and other items. 37% of the revenue came from contributions and grants, 3.34% of which is made up of a grant from the Department of Health & Human Services. The other 17% of the NCHSAA's revenue is from investment income.

The majority of the NCHSAA's expenses go towards program services, what it takes to run the organization — 79%. Management and general administration accounts for 16% of the NCHSAA's expenses, while 5% goes towards fundraising.

The association's assets are managed by the NCHSAA board of directors, a group of representatives from member schools elected to their positions. The board is made up of superintendents, principals, athletic directors, and coaches from each region of the state.

The three different types of assets held by the NCHSAA
According to the association, its assets can be separated into three categories: undesignated funds, board designated funds, and restricted funds.

As of June 2020, 38.9% of the NCHSAA's assets were held in restricted funds, 34.5% were in undesignated funds, and 26.6% were in board designated funds, according to HighSchoolOT calculations.

NCHSAA Total Net Assets in June 2020
The N.C. High School Athletic Association has total net assets valued at $40,371,590 as of June 2020. Assets are separated into three types of funds -- restricted, board designated, and undesignated.
Restricted Funds 15,708,286
Board Designated Funds 10,732,084
Undesignated Funds 13,931,220

Undesignated funds

Based on the documentation from the NCHSAA, undesignated funds are not restricted for certain purposes. These funds come from the sports programs and donations that are not designated for something specific like a scholarship or award. Undesignated funds include the operating budget, operating reserve, program reserve, and property.

At the end of the 2020 fiscal year, undesignated funds totaled $13,931,220.

The annual operating budget, money used to run the NCHSAA program, has averaged $5,364,118.40 over the last five years, the association said. That revenue comes from fundraising, program revenue, and ticket shares from the state playoffs.

Operating reserve money is money saved in case of an emergency or economic crisis — like the pandemic.

In 1986, the board of directors unanimously passed a motion that directed the NCHSAA to include "one year's operating expenses in reserve and work toward a goal of two years in reserve so that the association could continue to operate despite a catastrophe which eliminates income such as war, teacher strikes, etc." Based on that direction, the NCHSAA says the minimum amount in reserves should be between $4-$5 million, while the maximum would be between $8-$10 million.

At the end of the 2020 fiscal year, the operating budget and operating reserve together totaled $8,960,900.03.

Program reserves are funds that allow the NCHSAA board of directors the ability to authorize investment in opportunities or programs that may not drive revenue over time. It can also include professional development, research and development, and infrastructure, the association says. The board of directors determines how much money should be in the program reserve at any given time. The fund included $6,548,739 in June 2020.

Property includes the NCHSAA office building, equipment, vehicles, and other items. Total property was valued at $1,321,824.

Board designated funds

Money that goes into specific funds or are set aside for specific uses by the board of directors are classified as board designated assets by the NCHSAA.

The total value of the board designated funds was $10,732,084, as of June 30, 2020.

Revenue for board designated funds comes from the previous year's $1 ticket surcharge from playoff events, fines, money collected from key person insurance policies, appreciation and loss, interest earnings, and 25% of gross revenue from optional endowment games — a practice that has been suspended indefinitely by the board of directors.

Restricted funds

Revenue from donors can have stipulations attached with specific instructions for how the funds are to be used or when. These are called restricted funds because the NCHSAA and its board of directors do not have authority to spend the money in ways that are not in line with the donor's wishes.

In restricted funds, the principal amount given and any future contributions to the same fund cannot be spent. Only interest earned from the investments can be used.

As of June 2020, the NCHSAA had $15,708,286 in restricted funds.

What about the endowment fund?
Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about the NCHSAA's general endowment fund. It has also received a lot of attention during the legislative investigation and in the committee hearings surrounding House Bill 91, which would dissolve the NCHSAA.

As of June 2020, the total value of the general endowment fund was $23,048,553, which is included in the NCHSAA's net worth. Of that, $14,967,246 were perpetuity restricted funds, which means it can never be spent. Perpetuity restricted funds remain in place provide interest revenue at all times, allowing the board of directors to use the funds for programs and other priorities.

According to NCHSAA financial data, $8,081,307 of the general endowment fund is considered board designated money. That means the board of directors can tell the NCHSAA how to spend or distribute that money. For example, during the coronavirus pandemic, the board distributed $4,000,144.38 from that fund to help schools cope with the loss of revenue during the pandemic. A new audit is not yet available for the fiscal year ending in June 2021, so we don't know how big of a dent that $4 million expense put in the board designated funds.

Since the 1990s, the NCHSAA has distributed $10,730,030.62 from its endowment fund.

The NCHSAA also has a Hall of Fame Endowment, which was started with a $100,000 gift from GlaxoSmithKline in the 1990s. The endowment underwrites the NCHSAA Hall of Fame, which inducts individuals each year. The Hall of Fame Endowment is valued at $200,129, but only $49,355 is board designated and does not have any restrictions.

There are also a number of endowed scholarships and awards at the NCHSAA. These funds were donated by individuals who specify how the funds are to be used. The principal cannot be spent, only the interest earned. The amount of money given away in a scholarship or award is determined by the donor and the amount of interest earnings.

Endowed scholarships and awards include the Charlie Adams Endowed Scholarship, the Clary Medal Awards, the Gainey Student Scholarships, the Tony Cullen Memorial Fund, the Alford Family Golf Scholarship, the NCHSAA Lacrosse Scholarship, the Toby Webb Outstanding Coach Award, the Willie Bradshaw Endowed Scholarships, the Jerry McGee Endowed Scholarship, and the Dave Harris Outstanding Athletic Director Award.

The NCHSAA has additional endowed funds dedicated to specific causes as well. There is a health & safety fund, a coaches education fund, and an athletic administrators' education fund. The NCHSAA says these funds are two years old and funds have not been drawn from the earnings yet.

The health and safety fund allows the NCHSAA to fund future programs that would help fulfill health and safety initiatives. For example, previously the NCHSAA used money to ensure every school had at least one automated external defibrillator.

According to the data released by the NCHSAA, the health and safety fund is valued at $661,463, and $660,328 of that is available for the board to designate a use for.

The coaches education fund allows the NCHSAA to help offset costs to coaches who complete coaching education certifications through the National Federation of State High School Associations. The total value of the fund was $589,151 in June 2020, and $588,793 is available for the board of directors to spend.

Finally, the athletic administrators' education fund helps offset the cost for athletic administrators to obtain professional certifications. The fund includes a total of $1,100,851, and $1,100,546 is board designated.

[Longdayrunner]

Good article, worth the read:

Survey of high school athletic directors finds little support for HB 91
Updated July 23, 2021 11:50 a.m. EDT

(Link to this article will provide charts and survey responses)

https://www.highschoolot.com/survey-of-high-school-athletic-directors-finds-little-support-for-hb-91/19785996/

RALEIGH, N.C. — High school athletic directors in North Carolina overwhelmingly oppose legislation that would dissolve the N.C. High School Athletic Association and place control of high school sports in the hands of a commission appointed by elected politicians, HighSchoolOT found in a survey.

The survey was emailed to athletic directors at NCHSAA member schools. Of the 427 member schools slated to be part of the association during the 2021-2022 school year, 230 athletic directors responded, which is a response rate of 53.9%.

Because of concerns raised by legislators that some may fear retribution for speaking out about the NCHSAA, HighSchoolOT did not collect identifying information about the athletic directors or schools that responded. However, information about classification, region, and type of school was collected.

House Bill 91, which was originally a bill about students with autism, was amended this week in the Senate Committee on Education and replaced with language that would dissolve the NCHSAA. A commission selected by the governor and both chambers of the legislature would be setup to govern high school sports in the 2022-2023 school year.

HighSchoolOT asked athletic directors four multiple choice questions and provided an opportunity for open-ended responses.

[Longdayrunner]

NCHSAA, lawmakers call closed-door meeting 'positive,' 'a first step'

Updated July 28, 2021 7:55 p.m. EDT

(Go to the address below and watch and listen to the video)

https://www.highschoolot.com/nchsaa-lawmakers-call-closed-door-meeting-positive-a-first-step/19796052/

By Kyle Morton, HighSchoolOT producer & Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — After just over two hours behind closed doors, some Republican members of the state legislature emerged with representatives of the N.C. High School Athletic Association with an optimistic tone about the path forward.

With House Bill 91 looming, a bill that would dissolve the NCHSAA, the two groups met to discuss concerns lawmakers have about the association's oversight, finances, and rules

"It was a great meeting. We really appreciated the chance to get in there. I think we got a lot accomplished and I think everybody's in a better place now," said NCHSAA Board of Directors President Bobby Wilkins, who is the principal at Hendersonville High School.

Wilkins spoke on behalf of the NCHSAA. Commissioner Que Tucker did not speak and Assistant Commissioner James Alverson said there would be no further comment from the association beyond the interview with Wilkins.


"When we started out, everybody's in a different place. We got in there and we chatted. We talked about stuff and it was very professional and to the point, and a lot got accomplished that way," Wilkins said, declining to comment on specifics of discussions. "I would be here an hour or two if I did that. It's just a lot of things that have been questioned over the years, and I think it was very just and stuff that we needed to talk about."

Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Union), Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell), Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Richmond) and Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) all attended the meeting.

"I thought we had a great discussion. I thought it was very eye-opening for the executive board members to understand our concerns and for us to listen to what they had to say," Bell said after the meeting, noting that he thought this discussion was about two years past due. "I was also happy that some of our concerns have already been met even though they've not communicated that back to us."

McInnis said they spent time talking about the finances of the NCHSAA, one of the main issues driving the investigation into the NCHSAA, which has a total net worth of just over $40 million.

"We didn't get down into the nitty gritty and the dirty weeds about where it's going, or what they've got to do with it, or anything like that, other than to say if you've got sufficient money to run the operation, why continue to charge additional money," McInnis said. "Everybody came away in a very positive way, this was a very positive meeting. I'm so thankful that we had all the players at the table."

While both sides felt the meeting had a positive outcome, it isn't the end of the legislature's interest in the NCHSAA. Wilkins said he expects further discussions with legislators, and the lawmakers seem to agree.


"Today was kind of what I see as the first step to some potential teamwork and working together to continue to work on the legislation," Johnson said. "I do think legislation will still move forward, but maybe having them at the table with us is a good step, and their willingness that they've expressed to us to work with us was a positive step."

Sawyer also called the meeting a "great first step." However, Sawyer also feels legislation will still be needed.

"They are an actor of the state and when they deal with our public schools, and what funds them is public money, we see that they absolutely are an arm of the state when it comes to certain duties that have been delegated to them by the Board of Education," Sawyer said. "We see that we have to clarify that relationship, we have to strengthen that relationship, and moving forward I think that's what legislation will look like."

The specifics of the legislation moving forward are still unclear, including whether or not language that would result in the dissolution of the organization would remain in HB 91.

"I certainly hope not," Wilkins said when asked if the NCHSAA would be dissolved. "I think it does a lot of stuff for a lot of kids, so I think that would be the way I'd answer that."

Legislators indicated their goal was not to dissolve the association, but felt they had to draft the legislation because they felt they were not getting communication from the NCHSAA.

"From the beginning, House Bill 91 was really a path of last resort because we weren't getting feedback (from the NCHSAA)," Johnson said.

"Legislation is needed," Sawyer added. "I think that's what you heard from both sides of the aisle, that we need to fix the organization, but there needs to be some framework and legislation around what that looks like. Do I wake up in the morning and say, 'I want the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to die?' No. I never at any point did that, but unfortunately it took House Bill 91 to get them finally to the table."

HB 91 is currently in the rules committee in the Senate. If it comes out of the committee, it could go to the full Senate for vote. It would then have to go through the committee process in the House before going to the House floor. If HB 91 passes both the Senate and the House, it would go to Gov. Roy Cooper who would have to decide to sign the bill into law or veto it.

"We will be working closely, quickly, hand-in-hand for the right outcome and I feel that it's inevitable that it will happen," McInnis said.

The Senate is not in session the rest of the week, but will return next week.

Bell said he will continue conversations next week when he meets with Cardinal Gibbons High School, one of four non-boarding parochial schools in the NCHSAA. Under the current proposed legislation, Cardinal Gibbons would be removed from the organization that would replace the NCHSAA.

There have been ongoing discussions between Bell and Cardinal Gibbons, Bell said.

"We want a very productive and ... equitable environment for high school athletics in our state and I think we can get there," Bell said.

[Longdayrunner]

Bill resurfaces in N.C. legislature that would disband NCHSAA

https://journalnow.com/news/local/education/bill-resurfaces-in-n-c-legislature-that-would-disband-nchsaa/article_f9496082-0384-11ec-a1eb-2b3bf9decb99.html

The Republican-sponsored legislative bill that threatens the existence of the N.C. High School Athletic Association has resurfaced in the state Senate.

The latest edition of House Bill 91 was returned Thursday to the Senate Education/Higher Education committee after sitting in the Senate Rules and Operations committee since July 22.

Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Anson, and Senate majority whip, applied the gut-and-replacement strategy July 21 to HB91 to insert language creating the N.C. Interscholastic Athletic Commission that would be overseen by the State Board of Education.

McInnis was joined by Republican Sens. Todd Johnson of Union County and Vickie Sawyer of Yadkin County.

The bill passed Senate Education/Higher Education on July 21 and Senate Finance on July 22.

Senate Education/Higher Education is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

However, HB91 was not on the committee agenda as of Sunday.

What is on the agenda is House Bill 324, titled “Ensuring dignity & nondiscrimination/schools,” which is the North Carolina Republican-sponsored version of the controversial critical race theory legislation introduced in the mostly Republican-controlled legislature.

The goal for the current version of HB91 is to “restructure oversight of public high school interscholastic athletics to ensure accountability and fair play.”

The strategy would be to disband the 108-year-old NCHSAA and replacing it with the commission beginning in the 2022-23 school year.

There has been at least one known meeting between NCHSAA leadership and the Republican bill sponsors, held on July 28, to discuss HB91 and potential NCHSAA reform initiatives.

NCHSAA officials did not respond when asked Friday if there is any update on those negotiations.

Capital fund grants
The latest version of the bill does not include a third section that would “authorize use of needs-based public school capital fund grants for athletic facilities.”

It is the only significant changes to the revamped bill since July 21.

The capital fund grants, which could have been used to construct athletic facilities, were included to be an option for assisting primarily rural public schools. It would require a county funding commitment.

State law requires Commerce officials to annually rank the economic health of all 100 counties, with the 20 most prosperous counties as Tier 3, the next 40 counties as Tier 2 and the 40 most distressed counties as Tier 1.

For 2021, Watauga is the only Tier 3 county among the 14 in the Triad and Northwest N.C.

Tier 2 counties are Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin. The Tier 1 counties are Randolph, Rockingham and Wilkes.

The capital fund grants would have enabled a Tier 1 county to receive $3 in grant funds for every $1 in county funds with a $15 million limit on grant funds per county.

For Tier 2 counties, they would receive $1 in grant funds for every $1 in county funds with a $10 million limit on grant funds per county.

The grant funds would have been allowed for use on new school buildings and new school athletic facilities, but not for real property acquisitions.

“This amendment suggests to me that bill supporters think they might be able to round up enough yes votes if they take the grants out of the equation,” said Mitch Kokai, senior policy analyst with Libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation. “Helping smaller, poorer school districts is a top priority for the most vocal proponents of this change.

“But they seem willing to sacrifice that piece of their plan if the sacrifice helps the bill cross the goal line,” Kokai said.

Background
The spark behind the revamped version of HB91 appears to have been a slow burn of nearly two years.

It stems from a 2019 football playoff eligibility appeal by an influential Republican senator from Anson County and the denial by the independent nonprofit group.

That dispute carried over into tense joint legislative oversight meetings in April and May prior to the gut-and-replace on HB91.

The commission’s 17 members would be appointed by the governor (nine), Senate leader (four) and House speaker (four). It would enforce rules and policies adopted by the State Board of Education.

The composition would include most of the same positions that make up the NCHSAA’s board: coaches who are full-time school employees; athletic directors; principals or assistant principals; and superintendents or assistant superintendents.

Bill sponsors are willing to have the NCHSAA remain in charge for 2021-22 school year under State Board of Education oversight.

However, the bill requires the NCHSAA to agree by Aug. 15 “to discontinue all financial penalties for rules violations for participating schools” — a key motivational factor for McInnis with the legislation.

If the NCHSAA declines to accept those conditions — and NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker indicated it will — the State Board of Education would designate the State Department of Public Instruction to apply and enforce interscholastic rules for 2021-22 if the bill becomes law.

Johnson said during the Senate Education meeting that “this bill is solely about accountability and transparency.”

“It is what we demand in every single aspect of state government” even though the NCHSAA is not part of state government.

Tucker told the Greensboro News & Record in July that the sponsors of the revamped HB91 have “some friends in the Senate, and I do believe they will be able to use their power of persuasion to get it through the Senate.”

“They are feeling now is that they’ve invested so much that they have to go with it,” Tucker said. “I’m disappointed that at this time our politics have sunk to the level that we now believe it is OK to politicize education-based athletics at the high school level.”

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has not taken a public position on HB91, but acknowledged it was likely the Senate could pass the bill.

“Interestingly enough, (bill) supporters want to take it out of the private sector and put it into government,” Cooper said on July 22. “We will examine the bill to see if it is really needed. I will be glad to talk to legislators about it.”

[Longdayrunner]

https://journalnow.com/news/local/nchsaa-dissolution-legislative-bill-draws-thursday-committee-meeting/article_bddcce9c-05a2-11ec-9143-6398e0ae8164.html

8.25.2021

NCHSAA dissolution legislative bill draws Thursday committee meeting

The Republican-sponsored legislative bill that threatens the existence of the N.C. High School Athletic Association will get its next committee hearing Thursday.

The latest edition of House Bill 91 was returned Aug. 19 to the Senate Education/Higher Education committee after sitting in the Senate Rules and Operations committee since July 22.

HB91 is on the Education/Higher Education committee agenda for at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Anson, and Senate majority whip, applied the gut-and-replacement strategy July 21 to HB91 to insert language creating the N.C. Interscholastic Athletic Commission that would be overseen by the State Board of Education.

McInnis was joined by Republican Sens. Todd Johnson of Union County and Vickie Sawyer of Yadkin County.

The bill passed Senate Education/Higher Education on July 21 and Senate Finance on July 22.

The goal for the current version of HB91 is to “restructure oversight of public high school interscholastic athletics to ensure accountability and fair play.”

The strategy would be to disband the 108-year-old NCHSAA and replacing it with the commission beginning in the 2022-23 school year.

There has been at least one known meeting between NCHSAA leadership and the Republican bill sponsors, held on July 28, to discuss HB91 and potential NCHSAA reform initiatives.

NCHSAA officials did not respond when asked Friday if there is any update on those negotiations.

Capital fund grants
The latest version of the bill does not include a third section that would “authorize use of needs-based public school capital fund grants for athletic facilities.”

It is the only significant changes to the revamped bill since July 21.

The capital fund grants, which could have been used to construct athletic facilities, were included to be an option for assisting primarily rural public schools. It would require a county funding commitment.

State law requires Commerce officials to annually rank the economic health of all 100 counties, with the 20 most prosperous counties as Tier 3, the next 40 counties as Tier 2 and the 40 most distressed counties as Tier 1.

For 2021, Watauga is the only Tier 3 county among the 14 in the Triad and Northwest N.C.

Tier 2 counties are Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin. The Tier 1 counties are Randolph, Rockingham and Wilkes.

The capital fund grants would have enabled a Tier 1 county to receive $3 in grant funds for every $1 in county funds with a $15 million limit on grant funds per county.

For Tier 2 counties, they would receive $1 in grant funds for every $1 in county funds with a $10 million limit on grant funds per county.

The grant funds would have been allowed for use on new school buildings and new school athletic facilities, but not for real property acquisitions.

“This amendment suggests to me that bill supporters think they might be able to round up enough yes votes if they take the grants out of the equation,” said Mitch Kokai, senior policy analyst with Libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation. “Helping smaller, poorer school districts is a top priority for the most vocal proponents of this change.

“But they seem willing to sacrifice that piece of their plan if the sacrifice helps the bill cross the goal line,” Kokai said.

Background
The spark behind the revamped version of HB91 appears to have been a slow burn of nearly two years.

It stems from a 2019 football playoff eligibility appeal by an influential Republican senator from Anson County and the denial by the independent nonprofit group.

That dispute carried over into tense joint legislative oversight meetings in April and May prior to the gut-and-replace on HB91.

The commission’s 17 members would be appointed by the governor (nine), Senate leader (four) and House speaker (four). It would enforce rules and policies adopted by the State Board of Education.

The composition would include most of the same positions that make up the NCHSAA’s board: coaches who are full-time school employees; athletic directors; principals or assistant principals; and superintendents or assistant superintendents.

Bill sponsors are willing to have the NCHSAA remain in charge for 2021-22 school year under State Board of Education oversight.

However, the bill requires the NCHSAA to agree by Aug. 15 “to discontinue all financial penalties for rules violations for participating schools” — a key motivational factor for McInnis with the legislation.

If the NCHSAA declines to accept those conditions — and NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker indicated it will — the State Board of Education would designate the State Department of Public Instruction to apply and enforce interscholastic rules for 2021-22 if the bill becomes law.

Johnson said during the Senate Education meeting that “this bill is solely about accountability and transparency.”

“It is what we demand in every single aspect of state government” even though the NCHSAA is not part of state government.

Tucker told the Greensboro News & Record in July that the sponsors of the revamped HB91 have “some friends in the Senate, and I do believe they will be able to use their power of persuasion to get it through the Senate.”

“They are feeling now is that they’ve invested so much that they have to go with it,” Tucker said. “I’m disappointed that at this time our politics have sunk to the level that we now believe it is OK to politicize education-based athletics at the high school level.”

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has not taken a public position on HB91, but acknowledged it was likely the Senate could pass the bill.

“Interestingly enough, (bill) supporters want to take it out of the private sector and put it into government,” Cooper said on July 22. “We will examine the bill to see if it is really needed. I will be glad to talk to legislators about it.”

[Longdayrunner]

Amended version of HB 91 will allow NCHSAA to remain in place, require significant changes

Updated August 25, 2021 2:38 p.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/amended-version-of-hb-91-will-allow-nchsaa-to-remain-in-place-require-significant-changes/19842354/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Members of the Senate Committee on Education will meet on Thursday to discuss an amended version of House Bill 91.

Initially, HB 91 would have dissolved the N.C. High School Athletic Association at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but the amended version will allow the NCHSAA to continue administering high school athletics for public schools in North Carolina as long as it agrees to a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education.

According to the legislation, a non-profit organization that is in compliance with a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education would be allowed to administer high school athletics in North Carolina. The memorandum of understand would cause some major changes for the association.

The bill has a big focus on transparency. The NCHSAA would not be able to adopt new rules without first posting the proposed rule on its website and allow for public comment. The association would also be required to adopt policies similar to open meetings laws and public records laws, and it would be required to undergo an annual audit from the State Auditor.

NCHSAA board members would have to adopt ethics policies that would require them to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety as well.

Finances are also a big focus of the legislation. The NCHSAA would be allowed to charge reasonable fees for participating, but the annual fees to schools would be reduced by 20% when the total fund balance of the NCHSAA reaches 250% of the total expenses from the previous fiscal year. The NCHSAA would also be required to retain no more than 33% of net profits from any state tournament game.

The legislation also addresses classification of schools. It would allow charter and non-public schools to continue participating in the NCHSAA, but they would be bumped up a classification. All classifications would be determined based solely on enrollment.

The proposed legislation would forbid the NCHSAA from engaging in any of the following:

Soliciting grant funding and sponsorships from third-party organizations except for state tournament games.
Provide grants to schools regulated by the organization.
Provide scholarships to players, except when funded by donor-directed funds.
Designate the use of specific or preferred vendors.
Retain a percentage of gate receipts for games other than state tournament games.
Regulate or control the intellectual property of schools including team logos, mascots, and audio ro video of any game other than state tournament games.
Restrict the recording of audio or video of any state tournament game by any parent of a student participating in the game or an employee of the school.
Retain any portion of money collected from ticket sales, concessions, or sale of merchandise by a school.
Other changes the bill would make to high school athletics in North Carolina:

It would prevent the NCHSAA from issuing fines for rules violations.
It would create an independent appeals process utilizing a panel appointed by the State Board of Education.
There would be a mechanism in place for schools to report "intimidation or harassment" of participating schools by the NCHSAA to the State Board of Education.
The education committee is scheduled to meet at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. You can watch the meeting live on HighSchoolOT.com and the HighSchoolOT app.

[Longdayrunner]

Education committee advances amended version of bill seeking NCHSAA reform

Updated August 26, 2021 9:59 a.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/education-committee-advances-amended-version-of-bill-seeking-nchsaa-reform/19843718/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

(It is worth noting that listening to the audio/video would give you a different of this entire issue)

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Senate Committee on Education voted to advance an amended version of House Bill 91, which seeks to reform the N.C. High School Athletic Association instead of abolishing it. The bill now goes to the rules committee.

Initially, HB 91 would have dissolved the N.C. High School Athletic Association at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but the amended version could allow the NCHSAA to continue administering high school athletics for public schools in North Carolina as long as it agrees to a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education. The language of the bill allows the State Board of Education to designate a non-profit organization to run high school athletics in North Carolina.

"There's been a lot of work that has been done on this bill since the last time we were before you," Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell) said. "In this bill, we seek to reform, not to destroy."

The bill has a big focus on transparency. The NCHSAA would not be able to adopt new rules without first posting the proposed rule on its website and allow for public comment. The association would also be required to adopt policies similar to open meetings laws and public records laws, and it would be required to undergo an annual audit from the State Auditor.

Finances are also a big focus of the legislation. The NCHSAA would be allowed to charge reasonable fees for participating, but the annual fees to schools would be reduced by 20% when the total fund balance of the NCHSAA reaches 250% of the total expenses from the previous fiscal year. The NCHSAA would also be required to retain no more than 33% of net profits from any state tournament game.

Additionally, the legislation would prohibit the NCHSAA from soliciting grant money and sponsorships outside of state tournament games, as well as from providing grants to schools, awarding scholarships to student-athletes where the funds are not donor-directed, and designating the use of specific or preferred vendors.

The association would not be allowed to retain any gate money from regular season games, a practice that has already been discontinued, and it would not be able to regulate the intellectual property of a school, including audio and visual rights.

The legislation also addresses classification of schools. It would allow charter and non-public schools to continue participating in the NCHSAA, but they would be bumped up a classification. All classifications would be determined based solely on enrollment, and it says four classifications would be used — something the NCHSAA membership has attempted to change in recent years as the number of member schools continues to grow.

Other changes the bill would make to high school athletics in North Carolina:

It would prevent the NCHSAA from issuing fines for rules violations.
It would create an independent appeals process utilizing a panel appointed by the State Board of Education.
There would be a mechanism in place for schools to report "intimidation or harassment" of participating schools by the NCHSAA to the State Board of Education.
Several representatives from the NCHSAA spoke at the committee hearing, including NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker, who said she opposes the bill. Associate Commissioner Karen DeHart and Assistant Commissioner James Alverson read a letter from NCHSAA Board of Directors President Bobby Wilkins, the principal of Hendersonville High School, who also opposes the bill.

Tucker said the NCHSAA wants to work with the State Board of Education on a formal memorandum of understanding but "without coercion, without political influence, so we can sit down together and make the changes that will benefit boys and girls from the mountains to the coast."

Under the new legislation, the memorandum of understanding between the NCHSAA and the State Board of Education would have to be in place by Oct. 15. Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guiford) asked Tucker if that timeline was realistic. Tucker said it would be "tough."

"I think it would be very tight," Tucker said. "We do have bylaws, and our 427 member schools would need to be willing for us to set aside the bylaws that are addressed in this amended bill."

Not all senators in the committee seemed to favor the amended bill as written. Robinson expressed several concerns, as did Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake), who suggested legislation that would require a memorandum of understanding that would need to address certain points, but would not dictate the substance of it.

"My concern would be the unintended consequence of the bill could ultimately lead to the demise of the NCHSAA," Chaudhuri said.

Deran Coe and Greg Grantham, the district athletic directors for Wake County schools and Onslow County schools, spoke in opposition to HB 91. Coe said there were some things in the bill that he would support, particularly requiring a formal memorandum of understanding and providing more transparency, but he said many issues in the bill are already being addressed by the NCHSAA.

Colin Fegeley, the athletic director at Green Level High School, also spoke in opposition of HB 91.

"I've read through the text of the bill ... I am hard-pressed to find many aspects of the bill that put student-athletes first," Fegeley said. "Although we've had our disagreements, we're a big family. [The NCHSAA] puts student-athletes first."

[Longdayrunner]

NCHSAA says it's open to formalizing relationship with state, warns new bill could have unintended results

Posted August 27, 2021 12:13 a.m. EDT

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

https://www.highschoolot.com/nchsaa-says-it-s-open-to-formalizing-relationship-with-state-warns-new-bill-could-have-unintended-results/19844948/

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The new version of House Bill 91 adopted by the Senate Committee on Education on Thursday doesn't move to dissolve the N.C. High School Athletic Association, but it would still create major changes for high school athletics in North Carolina.

Que Tucker, the commissioner of the NCHSAA, spoke in opposition to the bill during the public comment portion of Thursday's committee meeting. In an interview with HighSchoolOT on Thursday afternoon, she said the NCHSAA is willing to work with the State Board of Education to formalize a relationship between the state and the NCHSAA, but she said HB 91 limits their flexibility.

"It's pretty prescriptive," Tucker said of the amended bill.

There are a number of areas the bill addresses. In addition to requiring a formal memorandum of understanding between the State Board of Education and any non-profit that oversees high school athletics, such as the NCHSAA, the bill limits what such a non-profit can and cannot do.

The amended version of HB 91 has many restrictions around finances and income, it limits services that can be provided to schools and students, it addresses appeals processes, it specifies how realignment and conferences should be determined, it requires additional transparency, and it addresses student eligibility, among other things.

In Thursday's committee meeting, Tucker said the NCHSAA is not against developing a memorandum of understanding, the NCHSAA does not want to do it under "coercion" or with "political influence." She said the NCHSAA would be willing to sit down with their attorneys and representatives from the State Board of Education to come up with a memorandum of understanding.

There are a number of things that Tucker would like to see in a formal agreement with the State Board of Education.

"If I had my Christmas wish list, it would be that we could continue to work the way we have worked with the state board by enforcing their specific rules and regulations, that we would formalize that, that we would talk about transparency, talk about the things that we have already started to do," Tucker said, specifically mentioning the new Endowment Investment Committee that is advising the NCHSAA Board of Directors on how to put the endowment fund to use.

Tucker also mentioned the appeals process would be something the NCHSAA would be willing to work with the State Board of Education on formalizing.

"Does it need to be more transparent? Do our member schools need to understand how that works? Absolutely. If we need to add another step, we're certainly open to that," Tucker said about the appeals process. "We're willing to do that, we're willing to be more transparent."

The NCHSAA is also willing to further open meetings to the public and to members, Tucker said, noting that regular board meetings are already attended by members of the media.

"And then obviously the fines. The fines are concerning to several of the senators, we understand that. I don't like fines myself. I do everything I can to not fine schools, and the way it works now is that, for most of our fines, when a school self-reports (a violation), those fines are reduced in half," Tucker said. "That can be a discussion, but I would like for our member schools to be involved in that discussion because many of them feel that fines are a deterrent and they don't want fines to go away, per se."

Financial language in HB 91 could change high school sports experience
HB 91 would require the NCHSAA to stop receiving corporate sponsorship money, it would reduce the amount of money the NCHSAA makes during the playoffs, and it would cap the amount of money the association could have in the bank while continuing to collect membership dues.

"When you start to look at our operating budget and the ways in which we have been able to offer state championships over the 30 years since I've been here, but especially the last 10 to 12 years, when we've been able to step up our game because the venues in which we play. If we have to adjust ot match certain percentages that are included in the revised version (of HB 91), then it would cause us to have to change the way we do some things," Tucker said.

Most state championships are held at college and professional sports venues. Football has been played at the four ACC schools; basketball is held at Reynolds Coliseum and the Dean E. Smith Center; volleyball is held at Reynolds Coliseum; softball and baseball have been played at various universities and professional facilities; track and field is held at N.C. A&T; the annual cheerleading championships is at the Raleigh Convention Center; wrestling is held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

HB 91 would reduce the amount of money the NCHSAA can make off the state tournament competitions to 30% of the net profit. There is no language in the bill that separates state championships from other state tournament games, even though the NCHSAA bears the cost of operating state championship events. And while corporate sponsorships are allowed at state championship events, it is not clear that enough money could be raised to cover the expenses of the NCHSAA.

In theory, that could all lead to state championships being held at other venues, potentially high schools. During the 2020-2021 school year, many state championships returned to high schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, which presented many logistical problems.

"We believe that it would diminish our state championships for our student-athletes because of the ways in which we would have to change the manner in which we conduct our championships," Tucker said.

Operating expenses of the NCHSAA, which state championship expenses would fall under, are not included in endowed funds. The endowment money cannot be used for day-to-day operations of the association.

State championships are not the only things that could be impacted by the language in the bill regarding finances. The bill seems to indicate that individual schools would be responsible for paying for their own catastrophic insurance, a cost the NCHSAA announced earlier this year it was going to cover for all member schools from now on. It also eliminates many scholarships for student-athletes and all grants for member schools, which have been used to upgrade facilities and purchase equipment.

"When it starts to affect the student-athlete, then that's concerning," Tucker said. "We believe that there is language in there that would impact directly our student-athletes."

Bill gives less flexibility for classifications, conferences
In early 2020, NCHSAA member schools voted on two proposed amendments to the bylaws. One of the proposed amendments would have allowed the NCHSAA Board of Directors to set the number of classifications. Right now, the bylaws state there must be four classifications, and many feel it is time to add to the number of classifications as the number of schools in the NCHSAA continues to grow. This year, there will be 427 member schools divided across the four classes.

Both amendment proposals failed. The NCHSAA bylaws require an affirmative vote from three-fourths of the membership. The vote came close, a clear majority supported it, but it fell just short.

The amended version of HB 91 also specifically mentions four classifications. If passed, the four classifications would be set in state law, which would present additional hurdles if schools desire to add more classifications.

"I think our member schools are pretty adamant that they want that to change," Tucker said of the number of classifications today. "I look for that to be on the agenda somewhere in the near future, provided we still are in somewhat control of our bylaws as it relates to classification. If it's in this bill and this bill moves forward then ... I think it sort of takes that out of the hands of the membership to be able to say, 'We want to change.'"

Classifications of charter and non-boarding parochial schools would also be impacted by HB 91 as they would be required to play up a classification higher than where they would fall based on their enrollment. The bill uses the term "non-public" schools though, which leaves open to interpretation whether or not any private school could be eligible to join the NCHSAA. Current NCHSAA bylaws specify a private school must be a non-boarding parochial school in order to join the association.

"It just seems to be maybe discriminatory towards some of the members that are in the association currently," Tucker said.

It also presents questions about how moving schools up would be executed. For example, HB 91 says enrollment numbers are the metric that must be used to determine classification, if the NCHSAA creates four classifications based on average daily membership numbers and then moves all the charter schools up a classification — most of which are 1A schools — it would leave a very small 1A classification and a very large 2A classification.

The bill also appears to eliminate the use of split conferences, a practice that has been used for many years by the NCHSAA where there aren't enough schools in close proximity within the same classification. Not using split conferences, particularly in more rural areas of the state, would result in longer rides to games and increased travel expenses for schools.

HB 91 was moved through the education committee and now goes to the Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate, which could be its last stop before going to the floor of the Senate for a vote. The bill would still have to be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Roy Cooper before it could become law.

[Longdayrunner]

Amended version of HB 91 advances out of rules committee, will get full Senate vote

(Watch the video, it gives a different point of view other than what we have heard/seen from the NCHSAA)

Posted August 31, 2021 9:39 a.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/amended-version-of-hb-91-advances-out-of-rules-committee-will-get-full-senate-vote/19851184/

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate voted to advance an amended version of House Bill 91, which seeks to reform the N.C. High School Athletic Association instead of abolishing it. The bill will now go to the full Senate for a vote.

Initially, HB 91 would have dissolved the N.C. High School Athletic Association at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but the amended version could allow the NCHSAA to continue administering high school athletics for public schools in North Carolina as long as it agrees to a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education. The language of the bill allows the State Board of Education to designate a non-profit organization to run high school athletics in North Carolina.

The bill has a big focus on transparency. The NCHSAA would not be able to adopt new rules without first posting the proposed rule on its website and allow for public comment. The association would also be required to adopt policies similar to open meetings laws and public records laws, and it would be required to undergo an annual audit from the State Auditor.

Finances are also a big focus of the legislation. The NCHSAA would be allowed to charge reasonable fees for participating, but the annual fees to schools would be reduced by 20% when the total fund balance of the NCHSAA reaches 250% of the total expenses from the previous fiscal year. The NCHSAA would also be required to retain no more than 33% of net profits from any state tournament game.

Additionally, the legislation would prohibit the NCHSAA from soliciting grant money and sponsorships outside of state tournament games, as well as from providing grants to schools, awarding scholarships to student-athletes where the funds are not donor-directed, and designating the use of specific or preferred vendors.

The association would not be allowed to retain any gate money from regular season games, a practice that has already been discontinued, and it would not be able to regulate the intellectual property of a school, including audio and visual rights.

The legislation also addresses classification of schools. It would allow charter and non-public schools to continue participating in the NCHSAA, but they would be bumped up a classification. All classifications would be determined based solely on enrollment, and it says four classifications would be used — something the NCHSAA membership has attempted to change in recent years as the number of member schools continues to grow.

Other changes the bill would make to high school athletics in North Carolina:

It would prevent the NCHSAA from issuing fines for rules violations.
It would create an independent appeals process utilizing a panel appointed by the State Board of Education.
There would be a mechanism in place for schools to report "intimidation or harassment" of participating schools by the NCHSAA to the State Board of Education.

[Longdayrunner]

Bill proposing changes to NCHSAA passes full Senate vote

(Watch and listen to the video on the web site below)

Updated September 8, 2021 1:53 p.m. EDT

https://www.highschoolot.com/bill-proposing-changes-to-nchsaa-passes-full-senate-vote/19853207/

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — After passing the education and rules committees, House Bill 91 passed a full vote of the Senate on Wednesday and passed with a 28-14 margin.

HB 91 was authored by a group of Republican senators and many Democrats have raised concerns about the bill, despite sharing some concerns about high school sports in the state.

Wednesday's vote was mostly along party lines. Sen. Kirk deViere (D-Cumberland) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the bill, though seven Democrats were absent from the session. All Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with the exception of Sen. Ted Alexander (R-Cleveland) who was absent.

The bill will go to the House of Representatives where it will have to go through the committee process, starting in the education committee. The House could decide to offer amendments and send back to the Senate, but if it passes the House as is, it will go to Gov. Roy Cooper, who would have to decide whether or not to sign the bill.

Should Cooper veto the bill, some Democrats would have to support a veto override for the bill to become law. To override a veto, three-fifths of the members present at the time of the vote most favor the override.

Initially, HB 91 would have dissolved the N.C. High School Athletic Association at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, but the amended version passed by the Senate could allow the NCHSAA to continue administering high school athletics for public schools in North Carolina as long as it agrees to a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education. The language of the bill allows the State Board of Education to designate a non-profit organization to run high school athletics in North Carolina.

The bill has a big focus on transparency. The NCHSAA would not be able to adopt new rules without first posting the proposed rule on its website and allow for public comment. The association would also be required to adopt policies similar to open meetings laws and public records laws, and it would be required to undergo an annual audit from the State Auditor.

Finances are also a big focus of the legislation. The NCHSAA would be allowed to charge reasonable fees for participating, but the annual fees to schools would be reduced by 20% when the total fund balance of the NCHSAA reaches 250% of the total expenses from the previous fiscal year. The NCHSAA would also be required to retain no more than 33% of net profits from any state tournament game.

Additionally, the legislation would prohibit the NCHSAA from soliciting grant money and sponsorships outside of state tournament games, as well as from providing grants to schools, awarding scholarships to student-athletes where the funds are not donor-directed, and designating the use of specific or preferred vendors.

The association would not be allowed to retain any gate money from regular season games, a practice that has already been discontinued, and it would not be able to regulate the intellectual property of a school, including audio and visual rights.

The legislation also addresses classification of schools. It would allow charter and non-public schools to continue participating in the NCHSAA, but they would be bumped up a classification. All classifications would be determined based solely on enrollment, and it says four classifications would be used — something the NCHSAA membership has attempted to change in recent years as the number of member schools continues to grow.

Other changes the bill would make to high school athletics in North Carolina:

It would prevent the NCHSAA from issuing fines for rules violations.
It would create an independent appeals process utilizing a panel appointed by the State Board of Education.
There would be a mechanism in place for schools to report "intimidation or harassment" of participating schools by the NCHSAA to the State Board of Education.

From the Daily Advance

https://www.dailyadvance.com/sports/high_schools/nchsaa-commissioner-comments-on-passage-of-hb-91-by-north-carolina-senate-high-school-sports/article_2d0a0336-93af-57c8-85ec-85476e49c026.html

NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker released a statement Wednesday evening following the passage of the bill in the Senate.

“The NCHSAA Staff and Board of Directors is disappointed that HB 91 (6th Edition) passed the Senate today. We believe that this bill is unnecessarily prescriptive and leaves in place many requirements that are not in the best interests of our member schools and student athletes," Tucker said.

"NCHSAA Board Members and Staff had been working diligently with several legislators on an amendment to HB91, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding draft, both which align with many of the central issues legislators have expressed concerns with, including membership dues, penalties, and gate revenue shares. Unfortunately, these documents and numerous recent decisions by the Board of Directors over the past year have essentially been dismissed; but if given the opportunity for these items to be heard and viewed, it would demonstrate a willingness on the part of NCHSAA leadership to address expressed concerns for the betterment of the organization.

Our hope now rests with the members of the House of Representatives, and it is hoped they will at least look at the work we have done in a draft MoU we shared with the State Board of Education. To be clear, we will continue to fight “the good fight” on behalf of the 427 member schools that are the NCHSAA."

[Longdayrunner]

The Daily Tar Heel

Editorial: The NCHSAA needs to be held financially accountable

https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2021/09/opinion-nchsaa-sports-covid-bill

(It is interesting that the Editorial Board of the Daily Tar Heel is on board with House Bill 91)

By Editorial Board
September 22, 2021 | 7:55pm EDT
This summer, North Carolina state legislatures introduced a bill that would strip power from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and place high school athletics under the control of a state commission.

The commission proposed in House Bill 91 would have had the responsibility to enforce eligibility, game rules and conference realignment for all North Carolina public schools, namely excluding private schools. The commission would have been composed of 17-members, including superintendents, principals, athletic directors or certain coaches — with nine members selected by the governor and eight by the General Assembly.

This bill was met with intense discussion, as it had the potential to upend the governing body of high school sports in the state.

Following a revision, North Carolina lawmakers got it right. There are two major factors in this decision: money and politics. Both issues were appropriately addressed, allowing for high school athletics to flourish in the future.

The original bill stemmed after Republican state legislatures questioned the $42 million in assets the NCHSAA held as of June 2020. The money the NCHSAA held onto is unacceptable.

This sum comes during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many high school athletic departments are struggling to balance their budgets. Meanwhile, in the midst of the challenging year, the NCHSAA maintained membership fees and levied fines against the school for eligibility violations.

Eligibility violations — in the middle of a pandemic. 

Further, in this year's North Carolina high school baseball championships, the chosen host sites were Burlington Athletic Stadium, a former minor league stadium, and J.P. Riddle Stadium, a current community college field in Fayetteville. State-of-the-art minor league stadiums went unused.

These are sub-par baseball facilities that the NCHSAA allowed for their state championships to be held at, a switch from venues at UNC-System schools such as UNC-Greensboro. The decision to play at a second-rate stadium while sitting on $42 million is inexcusable.

The issue, however, with completely abolishing the NCHSAA and replacing it with a commission is politics. Since the 17-member committee would be selected by lawmakers, the process to attain a seat would become purely political.

Bringing politics into high school athletics would be a disaster. The focus would shift from students' best interest to a power grab in Raleigh. We can imagine how high school sports in the pandemic would have become intensely politicalized.

In a HighSchoolOT survey, 86.1 percent of Athletic Directors were against the original H.B. 91 that would abolish the NCHSAA.

While most agreed there needs to be reform, they felt completely abolishing the organization would be the wrong move. One athletic director said, “The NCHSAA needs an overhaul not a death sentence.”

Another agreed saying, “Complete government overhaul is not the answer but I do believe that the NCHSAA needs more oversight.”

This sentiment is backed up by the revised version of the bill. Finances are a major focus of the new legislation. Among the significant changes the proposed legislation would enforce are:

Reduced annual fees by 20 percent when the total fund balance of the NCHSAA reaches 250 percent of the total expenses from the previous fiscal year
Prohibit the NCHSAA from issuing fines for rule violation
The creation of an appeals process independent of the NCHSAA with a panel appointed by the State Board of Education
The proposed legislation now goes back to the N.C. House of Representatives, awaiting a vote that would send the bill to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.

The bill proposes the best reform for the NCHSAA. There needs to be a system where the association is held accountable, while not making the fatal error of leaving high school athletics in the hands of lawmakers.

[Longdayrunner]

Lawmakers claim deal reached on HB 91, NCHSAA says more 'hurdles' left to clear

https://www.highschoolot.com/lawmakers-claim-deal-reached-on-hb-91-nchsaa-says-more-hurdles-left-to-clear/19890910/

Posted September 23, 2021 10:26 a.m. EDT

By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Republican lawmakers claim an agreement on House Bill 91 has been reached after a meeting on Wednesday, but the N.C. High School Athletic Association says there are still issues that need to be addressed.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the Senate and House met with representatives from the governor's office, the State Board of Education, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association. After the meeting, Republicans said an agreement had been reached.

"We're happy to report that after months of examining how best to support our student athletes and high school athletics we've come to an agreement. We believe this agreement will put the needs of our student athletes first, while allowing for a better, more transparent governing structure," Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne), Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Union), Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Richmond), and Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell) said in a statement.

But the NCHSAA did not leave the meeting with the same feeling that an agreement had been reached.

"While the NCHSAA is thankful to be provided an opportunity to be at the table to discuss education-based athletics in our state, we know there are still many hurdles to clear before we can reach an agreement with the State Board of Education," NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said in a statement on Thursday morning. "In the meantime, the Association and its Board of Directors remain opposed to HB 91."

The meeting came after Gov. Roy Cooper expressed concerns about HB 91 earlier this month.

HB 91 has gone through many changes since it was initially introduced this summer as a bill that would have dissolved the NCHSAA and replaced it with a government agency to oversee high school athletics.

After several amendments, the bill now focuses on reforming the relationship between the NCHSAA and the State Board of Education. The bill passed the Senate and is now in the House Committee on Education.

The NCHSAA says it believes the State Board of Education already has the statutory authority to enter into a formal memorandum of understanding with the NCHSAA without legislative action.

"Once we can turn our attention to formally working with the (State Board of Education) without legislative involvement, we hope to continue the long-standing cooperation between the Association and (the State Board of Education) to lead high school athletics," Tucker said. "As we have stated, we are appreciative of legislators sharing their concerns with us. We believe that hearing and addressing those concerns will help make us a more effective organization for our member schools and their students. We look forward to continued work with the State Board of Education to provide the best education-based athletic experience for our students."

Republicans did not release any details about the agreement they believe was reached on Wednesday.

"We remain optimistic that this agreement will provide the NCHSAA and the State Board of Education the flexibility they need to oversee athletics while also addressing concerns from parents, coaches, and the athletes," the Republican statement said. "We appreciate the governor's office, the State Board of Education, and the NCHSAA for working with us to achieve this outcome."

The NCHSAA and other groups involved in high school sports have raised concerns about the latest version of HB 91, which would restrict the association from doing many of the activities it is currently involved in. Tucker told HighSchoolOT in a previous interview that the bill could impact state championship operations and venues, realignment, the ability to give scholarships and grants to students and schools, and other asepcts of high school sports.