House Bill 41 is a matter of definition
‘Broken system’ could leave some public schools considered non-boundary
As the public schools versus private schools battle rages in Pennsylvania, the best question for school districts might be, are you really a boundary school as opposed to a non-boundary school?
The answer could determine what postseason a school will play in if the PIAA approves separate playoffs as public schools push harder than ever for that format.
Every school district in Washington and Greene counties was given an opportunity to respond to a pair of survey questions emailed to them for this story. Also included in the survey was Belle Vernon and Monessen – both in Westmoreland County – and South Fayette of Allegheny County.
The questions asked on the survey were:
1. Does your district have a policy or contractual agreement that allows for children of employees of the district to attend school in your district? If so, is attendance free or is there a tuition component?
2. Does your district offer Career and Technical Education programs, according to school code, and does your district receive students from other school districts, at the High School level, those students thus becoming students of your district?
Thirteen of the 22 school districts surveyed responded while nine districts did not. The email survey was sent April 21. One or all of a district’s superintendent, high school principal or athletic director was included in the survey.
Those who responded to the survey included Avella, Belle Vernon Area, Bentworth, Beth-Center, Canon-McMillan, Carmichaels, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Jefferson-Morgan, Monessen, Trinity, Washington and Waynesburg.
Those that did not respond were Burgettstown, California, Fort Cherry, Mapletown, McGuffey, Peters Township, Ringgold, South Fayette and West Greene.
The athletic directors from Fort Cherry and West Greene did respond on follow-up that their districts didn’t have a comment.
A “yes” on either question could turn what is currently considered a boundary school to non-boundary.
None of the 22 — each is a public school — want to be designated non-boundary, especially if the state decides to separate public and private schools during postseason play.
As it is now, the idea of “boundary schools” exists in relation to a geographical tax base.
Public schools, in some cases, operate beyond geographic boundaries. Across Pennsylvania, any public school district can allow tuition-based, or non-tuition enrollment, for out-of-district students. They also can offer Career and Technical Education programs, according to school code, and can receive students from other school districts, at the high school level, with those students thus becoming students of the accepting district.
Belle Vernon, Chartiers-Houston and Monessen answered “no” to both questions.
All other respondents indicated they have a policy or contractual arrangements to allow children of employees to attend their schools.
Avella, Trinity and Waynesburg said they do offer educational programs that allow for students from other schools to enroll and thus become their students.
Sources, with knowledge of the following districts (Fort Cherry, McGuffey and West Greene), said those districts also offer educational or Vocational-Agricultural classes that allow for students from outside their districts to enroll in their district and become students.
The first step toward Pennsylvania having separate high school playoffs for public and private schools was taken last month when the state House advanced legislation allowing the PIAA to split the two into different postseason systems.
The passage of House Bill 41 allows the PIAA, the governing body for high school sports in Pennsylvania, to separate boundary and non-boundary schools for postseason games. The vote was 178-23.
The bill will be sent to the state Senate for a vote, which is not expected to happen before June.
The issue of both public and private high school schools participating together in the same WPIAL and PIAA playoffs is one that has been hotly debated since 1972. That’s when Act 291 was passed by the Pennsylvania legislature, mandating that the PIAA allow Catholic and other private schools to become members, paving the way for their inclusion in state championships.
“We already are competing with them (private schools), and we think that’s (not good),” said Cyril Walther, superintendent for the Avella school district. “It’s not equitable as it is. I mean, if they passed (HB 41), it probably would be more equitable. But I don’t see us changing language in the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) because of that. We’re certainly not going to not offer vocational agriculture to our students because it benefits our students educationally. That’s why we make those decisions. The sports or the athletics are certainly important to the district and to our district families. That’s not the driving factor of why we make decisions.”
Dr. Edward Zelich, superintendent of Charleroi Area School District, said some tweaking of the boundary/non-boundary language could be in order.
“I would guess that the most alarming thing is how they’re going to deal with the boundary/non- boundary,” Zelich said. “It probably needs to be addressed. I’ve been here 12 years, and no one’s really brought an athlete over here for just sports. It’s just for the educational purposes. Hopefully, they realize it needs fine-tuned. Right now, it’s a broken system. Times have absolutely changed and people have a voice and they want to be heard.”
Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown strongly opposes Pennsylvania House Bill 41 and issued a statement.
In its statement, the school wrote: “While framed as a measure to promote fairness, this legislation raises significant concerns regarding equity, consistency, and the treatment of student-athletes across the Commonwealth. In truth, the idea of a “boundary school” for the purposes of athletic competition is a linguistic fallacy that is being asserted as a rationale for discriminatory purposes in violation of, but not limited to, the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. In its most diluted form, PA House Bill 41 is attempting to micro-institutionalize segregationist conduct on the basis of school choice and religion.
“A critical point often missing from this conversation is that public schools themselves already operate beyond strict geographic boundaries. Across Pennsylvania, any public school district can allow tuition-based enrollment for out-of-district students.”
Sports editor Chris Dugan contributed.