Prep sports agency targeted: Merrill wants to disband S.C. High School League

COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina High School League has a stranglehold on the state's public schools, keeping kids out late at night on secondary roads and controlling an appeals process that puts entire athletic programs at risk, state Rep. Jim Merrill said.

Merrill, a Daniel Island Republican and former House majority leader, has decided to take a swing at the issue with a proposed bill that would dissolve the interscholastic organization and shift its responsibilities to the state Department of Education.

Such a move would provide more public oversight on the group that serves an influential role in student life and has a budget of about $1.2 million, Merrill said.

The SCHSL is funded by membership dues from schools, corporate sponsorships and 20 percent of tickets sales to selected playoff games, said the league's commissioner, Jerome Singleton. He said the organization works to break even, not to make a profit.

Supporters of the agency, including Charleston-area coaches and athletic directors, lined up quickly to stick up for the organization, saying Merrill has got it wrong.

The league is governed by the schools -- including principals and administrators -- that participate. It is an organization that oversees varsity, junior varsity and B teams throughout the state, including 203 high schools, 205 middle schools and more than 338,000 students.

Members ask the SCHSL to classify schools by enrollment and geographic location every two years. Schools are responsible for scheduling regular-season events, including non-conference opponents and transporting athletes.

That combination causes some long nights, even during the school week. In the spring, it's not unusual for a school like Summerville or Fort Dorchester to travel to Beaufort or Battery Creek for a track meet and not get home until after midnight. That concerns Merrill.

Some SCHSL supporters accused Merrill of writing the bill to get back at the league for two incidents this year involving Hanahan High School.

The Hanahan football team had to forfeit nine games for using ineligible players this past fall. In February, the Hanahan wrestling team's shot at its first state championship came to an abrupt end when Singleton ruled that the Hawks used an ineligible wrestler in Hanahan's 34-33 victory over Loris in the Class AA Lower State final.

The league levied a $3,300 fine against the school, which is in Merrill's legislative district.

The legislation will be considered after lawmakers return to session in January. Richard Luden, athletic director at West Ashley High School, said Merrill is off track.

"It sounds like a knee-jerk reaction," Luden said. "Does he understand that the high school league is governed by (member schools)? Some people think that it is run by one or two people, but that's not the case at all. There's an executive committee that hears appeals and there's someone from the state Department of Education who is a member of the executive committee."

Merrill said the situation in Hanahan is just one recent example of why the state should have statutory authority of high school athletic competitions.

He said the league's recent realignment separated nearby rival schools, resulting in long bus rides for students after evening competitions.

Merrill also said he is concerned about the fallout for a Johns Island teen who this year was denied the right to play on the junior varsity football team at James Island Charter School after he transferred from the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science. League rules generally require a transfer student to sit out for a year.

"I get calls about transfers and denied appeals every single year," Merrill said. "It's hardly a knee-jerk reaction. With our education system, generally, there is a push for some accountability, and in this instance an association controls so much of our high school students' lives and really can impact the school itself."

Merrill said the league's reaction to his proposal comes as no surprise.

"The group that is currently in charge is not going to want to change things," he said.

Ray Stackley, who has served as athletic director at Stratford High School for 26 years and recently completed a four-year term as a member of the league's executive committee, said the league only enforces the rules.

"It's the schools, the principals, administrators who make the rules, not the high school league," Stackley said.

But whether his bill passes or not, Merrill said it will lead to a vetting of the current system and possibly to improvements that all involved can agree on.

Singleton said he is not sure how to interpret Merrill's proposal.

"I'm trying to contact Mr. Merrill and see if he has concerns he wants to discuss," Singleton said. "I have not spoken with him. I am trying to contact him to see if he wants to lay out any areas of concerns he would like to work with us (on)."

Outgoing state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, a Democrat, said he is concerned that shifting the responsibilities from the league to the Education Department would add more pressure to the agency at a time when millions of dollars have been cut from the budget.

Rex said he also is worried that the bill would unwisely expand the agency's focus beyond academics to including interscholastic sports ranging from football to cheerleading.

Merrill said he expects to add language to his bill that would put the league's financial resources in the hands of the Education Department for the hiring of staff to manage the new responsibilities.

Education leaders are split as to whether Merrill's bill is a good idea. Frances Townsend, chairwoman of the Dorchester District 2 school board, said she has been satisfied with the league's ability to resolve problems.

"They actually look out to prevent problems, rather than react when an issue comes up," she said.

Berkeley County School Board Vice Chairman Doug Cooper said he supports Merrill's proposal.

"Berkeley County has had several issues with the high school league and them not interpreting or following their own rules," Cooper said. "I think it needs to be more focused on the kids and what's right for the kids instead of some of the ways it has played out in the past."

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855. Reach Philip M. Bowman at 937-5592.