December 1, 2005

Board Directs Hales Franciscan Administration to Appear;
Suspension for 2005-06 Lifted

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors voted today (Dec. 1) to direct the administration of Chicago (Hales Franciscan) High School and a member of its school board to appear before the Board at its regular meeting on January 11, 2006, to answer questions regarding the school's status with the Association.

Hales Franciscan has not been recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) since June, 2003.  Subsequently, Hales submitted two annual membership renewal forms to the IHSA that certified that the school was ISBE-recognized.  By-laws 1.250 and 1.210 make recognition by the ISBE a prerequisite for membership in the Association.

In addition, after the school was suspended from membership by IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman on Nov. 22, 2005, and informed that it could not compete against IHSA member schools, the school played in a basketball contest the same evening.

After the Board has an opportunity to hear from the Hales administration, it will then consider possible sanctions.

At the close of today’s meeting, the IHSA Board and Staff were informed that the ISBE had completed its inspection of Hales Franciscan and had officially recognized the school for the 2005-06 school year.  Based on that information, Dr. Hickman lifted his suspension of the school.

Other Action

1. The board approved a list of meeting dates for the 2006-07 school term.  The list includes nine (9) meetings, including one on April 24, one day after the IHSA/Caterpillar All-State Banquet.
   
   
2. The board voted to impose a $100 registration fee for schools who must attend a make-up Principals’ Rules Meeting at the IHSA Office in December.  Ten schools have failed to attend a Principals’ Rules Meeting for two consecutive years, and will be suspended from the Association on January 1 if they do not attend the make-up session.  Fifty-four other schools failed to attend a meeting this year and will be placed on probation.  The ten schools facing suspension are Bridgeview (Universal), Chicago (Best Practice), Chicago (Hancock), Chicago (Hirsch), Chicago (Orr), Chicago (Our Lady of Tepeyac), Chicago (Phillips), Chicago (Robeson), Chicago (Simeon), and Skokie (Yeshiva).

Eligibility Rulings

1. Modified the Executive Director’s ruling and granted Jermaine Link eligibility at St. Anne High School for the entire 2005-06 school year.  Dr. Hickman had ruled that Jermaine’s eligibility would cease at the end of the first semester in accordance with By-law 3.051.

Discussion Items

At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain agenda items that the Board discusses, but upon which it takes no action.  Following is a report of those on this month’s agenda:

Fall Meetings:  The Board heard a report on the attendance and key items of discussion from this fall’s meetings.  A total of 28 Town Meetings/Principals’ Rules Meeetings were held across the state in November.  Each meeting provided a review of the by-law amendment proposals, the current grouping and seeding policy, and the model 3- and 4-class systems developed by the IHSA staff.

2005-06 Amendment Proposals:  The Board heard a report on the action taken by the Legislative Commission concerning this year’s amendment proposals.  Five of the 26 proposals were placed on the ballot.  Member schools have until December 28, 2005, to vote on the proposals.

Classification Survey: The Board reviewed the non-binding survey on classification prepared by the IHSA Staff. The survey will be available online later this month.

Soccer Incident: The Board heard a report on an incident that occurred in a soccer game played by Rockford (Guilford) High School last month.

Wheelchair Basketball:  The Board heard a report from IHSA Assistant Executive Director Dave Gannaway concerning plans for this year’s wheelchair basketball event in Peoria.  This year’s event will be held on the weekend of March 10-11, 2006, during the Class A Boys Basketball State Finals.

100 Legends:  The Board heard a report from IHSA Assistant Executive Directors Anthony Holman and Scott Johnson concerning preparations for the online election of the “100 Legends” of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.  A press conference is planned in the next few days to announce the nominees for the team and to reveal additional plans for the centennial tournament in 2007.

Hall of Famer: The Board heard that Assistant Executive Director Dave Gannaway was recently elected to the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame.

CSIET Board Meeting: The Board heard that Assistant Executive Director Kurt Gibson attended the Board Meeting of the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET) in Alexandria, Va.

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