As usual, pure facts are being ignored.
Are the private schools really dominating? Are the top-2 teams in the state basketball championships (or other sports) over the last four years for each classification usually private schools?
4A BOYS
ZERO out of eight schools were private.
4A GIRLS
ZERO out of eight schools were private.
3A BOYS
FOUR out of eight schools were private (3 of them O'Dea).
3A GIRLS
TWO out of eight schools were private.
2A BOYS
TWO out of eight schools were private.
2A GIRLS
THREE out of eight schools were private (2 of them were King's)
1A BOYS
FOUR out of eight schools were private (2 of them were Bellevue Christian)
1A GIRLS
ONE out of eight schools were private.
B BOYS
THREE out of eight schools were private.
B GIRLS
TWO out of eight schools were private (both St. George's).
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Do the math. Only 21 out of the 80 schools in the state championship game over the last 4 years were private schools. Add the fact that 9 of the 21 finalists came from four perennially strong programs, and that seems to indicate that there isn't quite the problem you suggest.
I assume that your problem is that private schools win more. Well, here's more information that should set your mind at ease (but of course it won't). Of the 40 state basketball champions in the last four years, only 12 have been private schools. Again, you only need to look at strong basketball programs (O'Dea boys, King's girls and Bellevue Christian boys) to discover that there isn't the imbalance you think there is. Those great private school programs have combined to win 6 of the 40 titles. But public schools have won 28 titles during that time span! Seattle public school programs alone have won...SEVEN!!! Gee whiz, anybody want to whine about the fact that open enrollment gives public schools an advantage?
Now, let's look carefully at some other major sports for just this past season.
2005 FOOTBALL FINALS
10 public schools, 2 private schools (both lost, one of them DeSales)
2005 BASEBALL FINALS
10 public schools, 2 private schools (both DeSales, both won)
2005 SOFTBALL FINALS
12 public schools, 0 private schools
2005 VOLLEYBALL FINALS
10 public schools, 0 private schools
2006 WRESTLING (top-2)
10 public schools, 0 private schools
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Please answer this question: Do you think that any of the 50 public schools in the above-mentioned sports ever complained about having to play the private schools in the state-playoffs after beating them? Not a bad record for the public schools last year. 50 wins, 2 losses (both to DeSales' baseball team).
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Last point: If you think there is a huge problem with private schools and basketball, just look at the year before last.
In the 2005 state championship games, only 4 of the 20 teams playing for the title were private schools...and guess who three of those teams were: O'Dea boys, Bellevue Christian boys and King's girls.
Great logic. Penalize and segregate every private school in the state just because three private school basketball programs are good.
Thanks for listening.
