Debate Continues on Equity in High School Sports

A group of panelists at today’s Louisville Forum discussed high schools sports and disparities between public and private school athletics. Those who work in the public school realm say private schools have a competitive advantage because they don’t have restrictions on the number of coaches or recruiting boundaries. Advocates for private schools say they are disadvantaged because they don’t get any public funding for their programs.One of the panelists was Ballard High School boys’ basketball coach Chris Renner, who has previously coached at private schools. He says there’s rarely a level playing field in high school sports."We’ve had to face teams that had better talent, had more advantages than we had, and we play teams across the country. Well I can’t go into that game and say ‘can we change the rules? They can play with four guys?’ No, I’ve got to look at the situation and say ‘the rules are what they are, I’ve got to find a way to win’," says Renner.The other panelists were the athletic director at St. Xavier High School in Louisville and the former superintendent of Somerset Public Schools.