If there is an issue in high school sports that will surely spark heated opinions — other than transfers — it’s the issue of what to do about private schools.
It’s true that private schools operate under different rules than public schools. The question is whether those different rules amount to a competitive advantage, and if so, how much, and if so, what can be done about it.
In some states, private schools are put into their own competitive classification. But in Washington, there just aren’t enough private schools to warrant such a move.
Of the roughly 380 member schools in the WIAA, fewer than 70, or roughly 18 percent, are private schools.
In other states, private schools have their enrollment number enlarged by roughly 150 percent. So a private school with an enrollment of 300 would have its enrollment counted as 450.
But in Washington, 17 of the 29 private schools currently in Class 4A-1A already opt-up one classification — some opt-up two classifications.
Because of the two factors, Washington is one of many states that makes no provisions regarding private schools in its classification process.
And that brings us back to our original questions: Do private schools in the state of Washington have a competitive edge?
Mike Colbrese, the WIAA’s retiring executive director, said no when asked about private schools by a group in Bremerton last week.
“A lot of people don’t look at the facts,” Colbrese said regarding private schools. “Top to bottom, private schools don’t win that many more championships … I’ll be glad to send you the data. We’ve been collecting it for the past 15 years.”
That comment caught my attention, so I decided to take a closer look at the success rate of private schools in the state.
For starters, private schools don’t have a huge impact on the larger-school classifications. In Class 4A, there are only three privates schools. In 3A, there are six. And at 2A, one.
And of those 10 schools, nine opt-up at least one classification already.
But when you look at the small-school classifications, that’s where private schools make a bigger impact on the landscape.
In Classes 1A to 1B, private schools make up about 31 percent of all the schools in those three classes.
But do those private schools win more than 31 percent of the time?
For my research, I only went back two years. Going back any farther would go into the previous classification cycle which would complicate things.
But I also didn’t just look at state champions, but instead teams that enjoyed success at state.
To rate that, I considered teams that reached the state semifinals or placed in the top four at state, depending on sport.
So what was the success rate of private-school teams at state in the past two years in Classes 1A-1B? It was 29.9 percent.
So looking at those numbers, you can say Colbrese is right.
However, if you dig deeper, the numbers start telling a different story.
Look at Class 1B, made up of the smallest schools in the state. It has the greatest concentration of private schools — 43.5 percent of all schools.
But the success rate of those private schools is much lower — 23.4 percent.
Why is that? Well, many of these small private schools have specifically-designed curriculum — usually religiously based — and athletics aren’t a big part of that.
Also, many of these 1B schools only field teams in a few sports, like volleyball and basketball.
But when you look at Class 1A and 2B, the success rate of private schools climbs.
In those two classes, private schools represent 25 percent of all schools. Yet the success rate for those schools is 34.4 percent.
That may not be a huge difference. But when you break things down by sport, more disparity shows up.
In soccer (boys and girls), 1A/2B private schools had a 53 percent success rate, or 17 of 32 state semifinalists.
In volleyball, 8 of 16 semifinalists were private-school teams. Baseball had 7 of 16. Tennis was 9 of 16.
But in other sports, 1A/2B public schools dominated. Football saw 15 of 16 public-school state semifinalists. The same was true of softball (15 of 16 were public schools). All 16 top-4 boys wrestling teams were public schools.
Now, the WIAA doesn’t like to break things up by sport. It prefers to take things on the whole. And that can make solutions challenging.
And there is something else to consider. Most of the private schools that have enjoyed success at state reside in more populated areas on the west side of the state.
Being a small school that draws students from a heavily populated area is a distinct advantage.
So what is the solution? I don’t really know.
The issue is complex, and solution would also be complex.
And at this point, it doesn’t look like the WIAA is looking for one.
Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.
