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PA Interscholastic Athletics Oversight
Council Completes Work
Robbins Calls for Continued Oversight of the PIAA
HARRISBURG -- Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Oversight
Council verified that the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Agency (PIAA)
has complied with each of the reforms required by state law, according to State
Senator Bob Robbins (R-50), a member of the Council. However, the Senator
still believes some measure of accountability needs to be put in place to ensure
that the agency continues the reforms and remains responsive to parents and
students.
In 1998, after a
public outcry against abuses by the PIAA, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution
127, which established the Special Committee on Interscholastic Athletics.
Senator Robbins was a member of the Special Committee.
“The truth is, for
years, the PIAA operated outside the realm of state government, although it was
funded primarily through public schools and interscholastic contests,” said Sen.
Robbins. “Without any real accountability mechanism, the organization was able
to make arbitrary decisions without regard to the interests of student athletes,
coaches, parents, schools, the media, and the community. The problems with the
PIAA have been documented--the lack of formal bidding processes for contests and
contracts; the lack of due process for student athletes in regard to eligibility
and transfer issues; no accountability regarding cash payments to game managers;
inadequate state championship facilities; and retribution against member schools
who take legal action against the PIAA.”
The work of the
Special Committee resulted in Act 91 of 2000, which established the
Interscholastic Athletics Oversight Council. The Council was formed to oversee
thirteen specific reforms at the PIAA. If the PIAA did not comply with each of
the reforms within two years, the Council would be tasked with reviewing
alternatives for the management of interscholastic athletics in this
Commonwealth. Act 187 of 2002 extended the timeline for completion of the
reforms by an additional year.
“While the process of
reform has been painfully slow to occur at the PIAA, I am encouraged that the
Council has concluded that the PIAA has finally completed each of the reforms,”
said Sen. Robbins. “The truth is, the PIAA’s own obstinacy caused the
delay--waiting as long as possible to implement such commonsense reforms as
basic accounting procedures. It confounds me that as recently as last year, the
PIAA still permitted individuals involved in an athletic contest to be paid in
cash.”
Sen. Robbins
continued, “Having been involved in the investigation and oversight of the PIAA
since 1998, I am not overly optimistic that the PIAA will continue to keep these
new policies and procedures in place without some level of oversight. Some of
the reforms have been implemented recently and have not stood the test of time.
Whether it be through a function of the legislature or a state agency , I
believe it is necessary to establish some permanent form of oversight mechanism
to continue to hold the PIAA accountable.
Audio
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