HIGH SCHOOL BOARD'S HASTY VOTE ON TRAVEL IS REVERSED

FROM JOHN MILLEA, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

The issue of out-of-state trips initially was tabbed only for discussion. After a discussion period, it was rejected.

For a few minutes Thursday morning, major changes were approved for high school sports in Minnesota: a ban on out-of-state travel and new limits on practices, scrimmages and jamborees.

But then parliamentary procedure came into play and nothing changed after all.

Cost-cutting was a major theme during the Minnesota State High School League board of directors meeting in Brooklyn Center. But most of the economic measures were listed under the "discussion" segment of the agenda, not the "action" category. That's where the confusion began.

After a proposal was approved to stop out-of-state travel and limit off-school practice sites, scrimmages and jamborees, a recess was called. When the board reconvened, a series of parliamentary maneuvers was taken and in the end, the previously approved changes came up for another vote and were defeated.

"We had a discussion item we were trying to move to an action item," said board president Mark Kuisle, athletic director at Rochester Century. "We got bogged down, where we voted on it before we made it an action item. So we went back and cleaned it up. Once we did that, the board decided we want a little bit more input and to clean up the verbiage."

The board will revisit that proposal in June. Several other major policy shifts will be topics at that meeting, including:

• Having basketball drop from four classes to three, wrestling and golf from three to two, and eliminating most consolation-round events in team and individual sports. The board asked MSHSL staff to study those possibilities as ways to save money for the MSHSL and schools.

• Moving the golf season from the spring and making it a summer or fall sport.

The board also discussed extending spring sports seasons a week or two deeper into June as a way to avoid bad weather and keep athletes and coaches/teachers from missing too much class time.

The board approved previously announced changes in class and section assignments for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, and also voted to institute background checks for officials and referees. Under the new policy, applicants to become registered officials cannot have been convicted of a felony crime involving: a minor at any time; the use, possession or sale of a controlled substance within the past 10 years; the use or threatened use of violence against a person within the last 10 years; a sexual offense within the last 10 years; gambling within the past 10 years.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, background checks are currently done in Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon and Rhode Island.