I feel for the authors of the recent letters that have addressed the issue of small high schools being forced to compete against private high schools that place a strong emphasis on athletics. Those four years of high school are precious and to have your school face one that draws from a population of well over 700,000 (Snohomish County’s approximate population in the July 2009 census) is a great disservice to those small communities that dot the landscape of this state.
No wonder towns like Granite Falls (population of 3,375), Sultan (4,555), Langley (1,100), Duvall (5,980), Coupeville (1,910), and Lakewood (not listed on the 2009 census, but just as small) are angry at playing schools with most of the county’s 700,000 people within an 8-mile radius of its admissions office. To put it simply: There is no level playing field in this scenario.
Here’s what you need to do: Let your athletic directors know that this smacks of one team having a decided advantage over another and that this inequitable situation must end. Let’s force the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to establish a separate league and state tournament for the private schools.
By the way, as I did my research for this, I realized that the two football state titles won by Archbishop Murphy came against Zillah (population 2,770) and Royal City (1,865). Hmmm … I wonder what the good, hard-working folks who faithfully support the Leopards and the Knights have to say about missing out on a state title because they had to face a team of hand-picked players from Snohomish County, population 700,000-plus.
Todd Sphung
Everett
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