Small: OSSAA abuses merit lawmakers’ response

OSSAA abuses merit lawmakers’ response

By Jonathan Small

Oklahoma law allows “open transfer,” meaning any student in Oklahoma can attend any public school with room. But the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) too often prevents transfer students from playing sports, effectively undermining the open-transfer law. OSSAA board members, who are mostly school superintendents, often see “recruiting” whenever a competitor school might get transfers.

The OSSAA recently barred four teenage boys from playing basketball for Glencoe, alleging recruitment because the boys have long known new Glencoe basketball coach Garrett Schubert and his son, Maddox.

The OSSAA’s Board of Directors voted 12–0 to declare the four boys ineligible. The boys’ families filed a lawsuit on Aug. 14.

State Sen. Thompson files bill to include school supplies, athletic gear in tax-free weekend

Thompson files bill to include school supplies, athletic gear in tax-free weekend

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, filed legislation on Monday to include school supplies and athletic equipment among the items exempted from sales taxes during Oklahoma’s tax-free weekend in August.

Senate Bill 231 would exempt common school supplies — such as backpacks, binders, pens, pencils, markers and notebooks — from state and local sales taxes during the state’s annual sales tax holiday, the first weekend in August. Recreational equipment, including cleats, gloves, mouthguards, shoulder pads and goggles, would also be tax-exempt under this bill.

State Rep. Rick West bill would require OSSAA to accept cash at games

Rick West Bill Would Require OSSAA to Accept Cash at Games

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 9th) – Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener, recently filed legislation that would require an organization such as the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) to accept cash for admittance to sporting events or any other activity where payment is required.

"Save Women's Sports Act" passed by Oklahoma House

"Save Women's Sports Act" Passed by Oklahoma House

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 19th, 2021) – The “Save Women’s Sports Act” was today approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, serves as the House author of the measure which would require certain athletic teams to be designated based on an athletes’ biological sex.

“Senate Bill 2 is legislation that protects opportunities for women and girls in athletics by ensuring they are not forced to compete against biological men playing on women’s sports teams,” said Hasenbeck. “Sports are a fantastic opportunity for our young people to learn the value of hard work and what it means to be part of a team, as well as keep them physically fit. However, the bodies of biological men have a competitive advantage over the bodies of biological women. Science tells us that males are generally bigger, faster, and stronger than females. They have larger hearts and lungs, denser bones, and stronger muscles. This allows them to jump higher, run faster and lift more weights, even after several years under the effects of hormone therapy. Similarly gifted and trained males will always have physical advantages over females—that’s the reason we have women’s sports.”

OCPA column: Turf over Textbooks?

Turf over textbooks?

By OCPA president Jonathan Small

In 2018, Oklahomans will see the largest teacher pay raise in state history, dramatic tax increases, and record total funding for education. Since March 29, $610 million in new tax increases and annual revenues have become law. Since the 2015 legislative session, more than $1 billion in new tax increases and annual revenues have become law.

Now that we have revenue, let’s not miss the opportunity for transformative reforms.

Clearly, Oklahoma’s teachers needed a substantial raise. The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs offered several proposals to increase teacher pay, including prioritizing existing funds and even offering a revenue plan.

Many Oklahomans were understandably confused as teachers marched to the state Capitol to ask for more government funding, even while in at least two central Oklahoma school districts, construction was surging ahead on lavish new multimillion-dollar football stadiums.

Patrons in Owasso were also baffled when they learned that the ragged textbooks pictured in an infamous photo were not in fact being used in class. That was actually fake news, and it got extensive national media coverage.

Owasso voters, in fact, approved a bond issue to include $2 million for textbooks and materials. Incredibly, though, they also approved bonds to spend more than twice as much ($5.45 million) on artificial turf.

And down in Norman, the teachers got their raise, and every middle and high school student in the district will get a new laptop thanks to $16 million in bond funds.

Oklahoma raised teacher pay and invested in education. Now, it’s time for local leaders and school boards to prioritize spending.

Do we really need 500-plus school districts with well-paid superintendents? Why would taxpayers give nearly $250,000 annually to a superintendent in whose district (Union) the majority of students lack proficiency in every subject?

Is there a better way to manage bond and operational funds to make sure priorities are met? When large school districts, like Tulsa Public Schools, issue more than $12 million for textbooks but then suggest they don’t have enough revenue, it undermines the true and legitimate needs of other schools.

What about staffing levels? As economist Benjamin Scafidi noted, between 1992 and 2015, enrollment in Oklahoma schools rose by 17 percent, teacher staffing went up by 12 percent, and non-teacher staffing ballooned by 36 percent. Can’t we redirect some of that operational diversion to other needs?

Legislators raised taxes by more than half a billion dollars to ensure teachers received the pay raise they needed. Now it’s time to enact reforms that will help modernize our system and empower our teachers.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).

Douglass-Locust Grove game: Just Let It Go

It's the end of high school football season, and most of the divisions are in the final games of the playoff. This year, a Class 3A quarter-final game has resulted in a lot of controversy.

Last Friday, Locust Grove High School defeated Douglass High School (OKC) by a score of 20-19. With a little over a minute left in the game, Douglass scored a touchdown, taking a 25-20 lead. However, Douglass' touchdown was called back due to a sideline infraction penalty (their second of the game), and Locust Grove held on to win.

Problem is, that penalty was improperly enforced. According to National Federation of State High School football rules, the penalty should have been applied to the extra point or ensuing kickoff. As it was, the referee's bad call wiped out the Douglass score.

It didn't take long for things to go south. Security had to restrain outraged Douglass fans (allegedly, one of the referees was punched after the game), and the Douglass coach apparently cursed at the referees and the OSSAA and otherwise behaved like an immature jerk.

Douglass appealed the penalty to the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA), asking for the final 64 seconds to be replayed, and the OSSAA denied the request. Now, Oklahoma City Public Schools is suing, and got a judge to grant a temporary restraining order to keep the semifinal game from being played on Friday.

Now, we have a host of politicians weighing in on Douglass High's side: State Sens. David Holt (R) and Anastasia Pittman (D-OKC), State Reps. Bobby Cleveland (R-Norman), David Young (D-OKC) and Paul Wesselhoft (R-Moore), even former OU coach Barry Switzer. All of these elected officials and public figures are calling for the last minute of the game to be replayed. Sen. Pittman did a press conference with NAACP officials where implications were made that the Douglass team was the victim of racial bias.

Here's my take. I think we can all agree that the referee made a bad call. It's unfortunate that the call cost Douglass the game. However, this is football. Things like this happen every single game.

Hardly a game goes by where some penalty isn't called when it should be, or is called when it shouldn't be. Sometimes, referees make the most inexplicable calls. Remember the onside kick in the 2006 OU vs. Oregon game? Yeah, bad calls happen.

Football is like that. Life is like that. Sometimes, you just have to deal with it.

Instead, now we have bunch of politicians and a big metro school district trying to force a do-over. Can you imagine how many other teams would like to be able to do that? What kind of precedent do we want to set? Part of me wonders if the roles were reversed -- if the rural school was the team that got the raw deal -- if all these elected officials would be as up-in-arms about it. Also, do we really want to litigate high school football games?? Is that a wise use of limited education funds?

Everyone agrees that the penalty was messed up. But, Douglass High School coaches and officials could have taken the high road and used this as a character building experience for their students, and shown them how to handle life's 'curve balls' with grace and class. Instead, they're setting a different example.

Just let it go, and move on.