IHSA Announcements

September 11, 1996

Public/Private Task Force Finalizes Draft of Proposals

BLOOMINGTON — The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Task Force on Public/Private School Issues Wednesday (Sept. 11) finalized its draft of proposals to be presented to the membership in the upcoming series of 13 Principals Rules Meetings beginning Sept. 18.

The Sept. 11 (Wednesday) Task Force meeting was the eighth in a series which began Feb. 13, 1996. Throughout its deliberations, the Task Force has focused on four areas in which it agreed proposals should be developed and presented to the Association's membership. Those four focus areas include:

  1. Enforcement of IHSA By-laws and Policies, and Education regarding the rules
  2. Boundaries (limitations) for beginning high school students and eligibility
  3. Transfers (from private to private, private to public and public to private)
  4. Financial Aid (scholarships, method of selection)
"The Task Force came to agreement on the direction it wishes to take in two sections of its beginning student proposal," reported Task Force Chair Gary Collins, principal of Monmouth (H.S.) and a member of the IHSA Board of Directors. "That completed, we then were able to make a thorough review of all the proposals in the final form to be presented to our principals at the upcoming Principals Rules Meetings."

Collins said the work of the Task Force is probably yet to be completed, depending upon what occurs at the upcoming Principal's Rules Meetings. He said there is time in the regular IHSA referendum process to reconvene the Task Force before the deadline to submit by-law proposals for 1996 arrives.

The series of 13 meetings will be statewide between Sept. 13 and Oct. 9. These meetings will be conducted by IHSA Executive Director Dave Fry. Members of the Task Force will also be present with Fry at meetings in the geographic area of the state they represent. That schedule follows:

1996-97 Principal's Rules Meetings
Date             Time        Site
Wed., Sept. 18   10:00 a.m.  Chicago Board of Education
                  4:00 p.m.  Flossmoor (Homewood-F.)
Mon., Sept. 23   10:00 a.m.  O'Fallon
                  2:00 p.m.  Marion (H.S.)
Tues., Sept. 24   1:30 p.m.  Sterling (H.S.)
                  7:00 p.m.  Galesburg
Tues., Oct. 1    10:00 a.m.  Ottawa (Twp.)
                  2:00 p.m.  Lombard (Glenbard East)
Thurs., Oct. 3   10:00 a.m.  Elgin (H.S.)
                  2:00 p.m.  Arlington Hts. (Hersey)
Tues., Oct. 8     2:00 p.m.  Jacksonville (H.S.)
Wed., Oct. 9     10:00 a.m.  Salem
                  4:00 p.m.  Mahomet (M.-Seymour)
"It is important that our member school principals attend one of these Principals Rules Meetings, because their discussion and input will have a definite bearing on any final proposals the Task Force may be able to submit in our regular referendum process," said Fry. "The work of the Task Force has been thorough, but the direction the Association takes in the four focus areas rests ultimately with the membership, and our principals are the bulwark of the membership."

In the IHSA's annual referendum process, proposals to change any by-law or Constitution article must be submitted by Oct. 15. Each proposal is reviewed by the IHSA's Legislative Commission at its first meeting (Nov. 4 in 1996) and proponents and opponents of each proposal may appear before the Legislative Commission to discuss the intent and present rationale for or against each proposal. Following that first meeting, a series of Town Meetings are held throughout the state. At these meetings personnel from member schools have an opportunity to hear the pros and cons of each proposal and communicate with their Legislative Commissioner regarding them. The Legislative Commission returns for its second meeting (Nov. 18 in 1996) and its members vote to place or not to place each submitted proposal on the annual referendum ballot. All proposals place on the ballot are then submitted in a mail polling to each member school. The official representative of each school casts the school's vote on all proposals on the ballot. A simple majority of those voting on a given proposal will carry or reject it. The mail ballots are sent to the member schools shortly after the second Legislative Commission meeting. Deadline for return of the completed ballot is Dec. 13 this year. Ballots are counted in the IHSA Office that day and the results are released to the membership immediately.